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Brussels, 20 February - Responding to the crisis in Kenya, the International News Safety Institute (INSI) has provided emergency safety training to 60 conflict reporters and other media staff. Five special one-day courses were held in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu between 11 and 17 February. The training focused on safer coverage of violent demonstrations and provided practical risk-awareness advice for journalists, photographers and cameramen. During the post-election turmoil a number of media crews were assaulted and their equipment stolen. Some were targeted by police and rioters. Thirty reporters took part in the training in Kisumu, the main city in the west of the country and one of the most affected regions. “I realise that I was taking so many things for granted and I could have been killed,” one said after the course. “I came out pointing my camera in the direction of policemen who had just shot a demonstrator who was lying down.” Other trainees said there was also a need to sensitise their editors and the heads of their media houses in awareness of safety in news coverage. The training was supported by International Media Support (IMS) with the collaboration of the Kenyan Union of Journalists and the Kenya Correspondents Association. It was part of a mission responding to the pressing need for conflict-sensitive journalism training and to assess needs for a longer term media safety strategy, carried out in cooperation with Article 19, the International Federation of Journalists and IMS. The training was provided by AKE Group Ltd. For further information about this news release and other INSI training please contact Project Manager Sarah de Jong, email sarah.dejong@newssafety.com tel: +32 2 235 22 01 |