Participants at a five-day safety and resilience training programme organised by the Whistleblowers Activist and Journalist Safety International Centre(WAJSIC), with support from the Open Society Foundation and the Netherlands Embassy in Ghana, have called for its extension to benefit more people.
The training, held from Tuesday to Saturday and facilitated by Lazarus Training UK in collaboration with WAJSIC, focused on field integrity, first aid support and personal resilience.
It brought together both French and English-speaking participants, including journalists, activists and human rights defenders.
The programme featured intensive practical sessions, with participants engaged in hands-on activities such as airway management, self-defence techniques and surveillance detection. The curriculum covered pre-deployment planning and risk assessment, personal security and travel safety, casualty assessment, communication security, conflict management in crowd situations, and emergency response to injuries, including bleeding and ballistic wounds.
Many participants expressed satisfaction with the practical nature of the training, noting that the skills acquired would be crucial in handling high-risk assignments. Some indicated that they wished they had received such training earlier in their careers.
Facilitators underscored the importance of equipping media practitioners and civil society actors with essential safety skills, stressing that such knowledge could help them protect themselves and respond effectively in dangerous situations.
At the end of the programme, participants unanimously appealed to WAJSIC and its partners to sustain and expand the initiative to reach a wider audience, citing its potential to enhance safety and preparedness among professionals operating in challenging environments.
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