Training
Call for Applications: "Safety for Journalists" Training Academy
New challenges are arising in Europe over the last years. Security and stability are shaken by the Russian invasion in Ukraine. In this context journalists and media experts are asked to work under pressing and unsafe circumstances. On the one hand, we have the war correspondents, who find it difficult to satisfy even basic needs, including their personal security, while at the same time they face an extremely complex information environment. However, journalists and reporters face huge threats and difficulties due to their profession, regardless the country they are working in. Surveillance cases, hate speech, physical attacks and even murders are some of the issues that have been recorded over the last years.
About the program
In this demanding times, the International and Peace Journalism Lab of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki took the initiative three years ago to create a pioneer training program for professionals and young journalists interested in visiting war zones, which soon proved to be extremely useful in practice for the trainees. This year a memorandum of cooperation sign for the establishment of International Training Center for the Safety of Journalists and Media Professionals in Thessaloniki.
This program will be available again this year organized by the International and Peace Journalism laboratory of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the Jean Monnet Chair for European Integration Journalism, with the support of the Hellenic Multinational Peace Support Operations Training Center, the Secretariat General of Communication and Information, Digital Communication Network Global, Journalistic Union of Macedonia and Thrace Daily Newspapers and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom Greece and Cyprus, with the aim of providing professionals and young students with all the necessary knowledge to face the challenges of the modern war and conflict field.
Reasons to Apply
This training school is a unique opportunity to benefit from the Organizers outstanding experience in war journalism/risk communication combined with the expertise of military professionals. The program is structured around keynote presentations by distinguished experts, roundtable discussions and intensive field training. The course will be run with a mix-method teaching style and includes lectures, discussion, field training, policy lab, and hands-on practicum. Sessions will be led by experts from across communication and military fields.
The curriculum includes two basic parts, those of theoretical and intensive field training. A number of issues will be presented to the participants, including:
- Introduction to the environment
- Challenges & evolutions in reporting war and crises
- Law of armed conflict
- Field safety
- Dealing with fixers
- Hostile Environment Awareness training (HEAT)
- Data security
- Health, epidemics and stress management
- Administrative paperwork basics
- Dealing with trauma
For the planning of the program, in addition to the specialized experience of those involved, research was conducted in order to record both the needs and concerns of young people who would be interested in working as war correspondents, as well as the experiences of war correspondents, so that the result to focus and respond to the real needs of learners.
Apply
The "Safety for Journalists Training School", will take place for the third consecutive year (May 8-12) in Kilkis. The working language will be English since the program is open to international participants and the participation fee includes administrative costs and accommodation (half-board). The deadline for applications is April 20.