The October 2009 International Conference on Youth and Interfaith Communication was held at the Conference Hall of the National Library of Nigeria, located along General Yakubu Gowon Way, beside the Plateau State Polytechnic, in the Capital City of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria’s “Home of Peace and Tourism”. Known as Nigeria’s tourist haven, the City of Jos is situated at the northern edge of a pear-shaped upland called the Jos Plateau. This upland stretches for approximately 104 km from north to south, and 80km from east to west covering an area of about 8,600km² or 860,000 hectares. Characterized by impressive ridges and isolated rocky hills separated by extensive plains, the Plateau exhibits a rich variety of land forms which provide excellent picnic resorts. Several rivers and hillrocks are interspersed among the highlands giving the landscape a striking scenery. It maintains an average height of 1,200m (4,000ft) above sea level, and reaches its highest peak in the Shere Hills where it stands at 1,766m (5,829ft).

The City of Jos was established in 1915, as a tin transportation camp and its early history was closely linked to the prosperity of the mining industry. In 1967, Jos became the capital of the defunct Benue-Plateau State and was transformed into the capital city of Plateau State in 1975, thus becoming an important administrative and commercial center. With a population of over 1,000,000, Jos remains one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Nigeria today, with people of different religious and cultural backgrounds leaving together. It is adjudged the “Home of Peace” or as the safest city to live in Nigeria.

Jos is situated almost at the geographical center of Nigeria and lies less than 300km from Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital. Jos is linked by road, rail and air to the rest of the country. It has an equable climate with its average monthly temperatures ranging between 21⁰ and 25⁰ C, average humidity of 60% and average rainfall of 1,400mm (56”). Other points of interest in Jos include an open –air museum of traditional architecture and the Jos Museum, which displays artifacts of the Nok Culture. In the early 1900s Jos was built by the British at the site of the pre-existing village of Geash. Tin mining began in the area in about 1907, and developed rapidly following the completion of a railroad in 1914. Jos also grew as a resort town, attracting tourists to its cool climate.