Eradication of violence from all spheres of the society requires sustained advocacy campaigns where the mass media will play a crucial role, said journalists at a roundtable discussion yesterday.

The media can raise awareness by disseminating the findings of researches and studies conducted on violence, they added.

They also urged government authorities concerned, research organisations and NGOs to conduct researches on all sorts of violence.

The roundtable titled “Stop Violence, Build a Peaceful Nation: Role of Media in Raising Awareness of Social Harmony” was organised by Democracy International (DI) at The Daily Star Centre in the capital.

AMM Harun-ur-Rashid, joint news editor of Dhaka Tribune, said reporting on social issues largely depends on the availability of updated data.

Shishir Moral, special correspondent of Prothom Alo, said, “NGOs working against violence should organise trainings and workshops for journalists and sensitise them first.”

Presiding over the programme, Md Abdul Momen, senior adviser of DI, said DI and its partner NGOs have been running an anti-violence awareness campaign since October 2.

The campaign features street theatre, debate competition for students, photo exhibition, rally and other cultural programmes.