By Chinenye Offor
Abuja – Mr Mohammad Abo-Seriah, Head of Mission at the Syrian Embassy, says it is imperative to educate youths if the country hopes to curb violence,other social vices and wars.
Abo-Seriah told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Monday in Abuja, that educating youths on the effects of war and social vices through movies, was one of the best ways to tackle the increasing security challenges in the country.
He said that the message would be most effective through movies than through text and advocacy on radio and television.
According to him, cinema is one medium that is easy to transfer ideas, ideology, policy, cultural and economic issues to other people.
“To write a short story about a war zone in a book might be in three to five pages maximum, but it will not pass the message across optimally, it is clearer when you see it in movies.
“You can also have a better understanding of other countries’ habits, cultural education, economy and politics through movies.
“So this is our target; to use the Asian festival and films to showcase cultural values and educate people for the promotion of peace,” he said.
He advised countries to embrace cultural transfer as away of achieving a peaceful world.
“We have asked other countries to join us to push and transfer their culture.
“We are using the movies to talk and show people the crisis in Syria; that will help them understand what people are going through in war zones.
He explained that many people were unaware of the Syrian crisis, adding that photos and images from the war would better explain the extent of damage and avoidable loss of lives.
According to the envoy, education through movies would help people understand what is to be expected in the future if some of these challenges are not tackled.
He also stressed that learning from the Syrian experience through movies, those being recruited into terrorism and other acts of violence, as well as those supporting such crimes would have a rethink.
The envoy also advocated for increased sensitisation using religious leaders and groups, as well as socio-cultural groups and organisations on the negative effects of war and the importance of peace to the growth of a society.
(NAN)
