Nigeria: Explaining the meaning of the emblem in the north
08-05-2002 News Release 02/19
Twenty-nine representatives from 13 state branches of the Nigerian Red Cross Society took part in a workshop on the Red Cross/Red Crescent principles and the red cross emblem in Kaduna on 23 and 24 April.
The aim of the workshop, organized jointly by the ICRC's regional delegation in Lagos and the Nigerian Red Cross, was to prepare a three-month programme of dissemination activities in the northern part of Nigeria, where the predominant religion is Islam.
A five-minute TV documentary and a 30-second TV spot on the meaning of the red cross emblem have been produced and pamphlets on the subject in Hausa and English have been printed. A radio drama series in Hausa, explaining the mandate and activities of the Nigerian Red Cross, is currently being broadcast by Radio Nigeria in Kaduna and can be heard in all the country's northern states.
By emphasizing the fact that the red cross emblem has no religious significance, the National Society seeks to maintain its operational capacity in the north. Indeed, public familiarity with and acceptance of the emblem greatly facilitates its volunteers'access to victims of religious violence.