A non-governmental organisation, Women & Girls Capabilities & Empowerment (WGCEO) has organised interfaith competitions in Osun and Kaduna states featuring football matches and debates to stem religious intolerance and conflicts and promote gender equality.
Seed International School, Kaduna came first while the host, Heyik International Secondary School, Kaduna, came second among 12 schools that participated in the debate.
The two winners engaged in a football competition which was won by Heyik International Secondary School.
The Executive Director of WGCEO, Ms Oluwatosin Olabisi, said the competitions are to engage the girls within the adolescent age as agents of interfaith tolerance, peaceful coexistence and gender equality.
She said the debate focused on the role of young people in promoting peace-building, the role of culture and religion in addressing negative social vices and the need for women in leadership positions.
Ms Olabisi urged state governments to promote such activities as a vital strategy for promoting peace and building the capabilities of young people for leadership in their respective states.
She said the organization, with funding support from King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID), is championing the rights of women and girls in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health & Wellbeing), Goal 4 (Quality Education), Goal 5 (Gender Equality), Goal 6 (Water & Sanitation) and Goal 16 (Peacebuilding).