Anadolu Agency (AA) will organise a "Forum on War Journalism and Reporting in Crisis Zones" for international media members on October 27 with the support of Presidency's Directorate of Communications.
Participants in the programme, which will be held in Ankara AAtölye with the support of the AA News Academy, will include 15 international media representatives from Georgia, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Albania, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Nigeria, Algeria, Chad, Kenya, Sarajevo, and Kyrgyzstan who received war correspondent training at the Agency.
The forum aims to increase the interest of international media members in Türkiye and to contribute to the promotion of the country by facilitating interaction between foreign war correspondents and Turkish participants. War correspondents will share their on-the-ground experiences and exchange ideas on issues such as the challenges of their profession, the dangers they encountered on the field, new technologies, and the principles that need to be updated.
Before the Forum, participants who will camp in Bolu on October 24 will visit the Presidency's Directorate of Communications, Presidency of Defence Industries, Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), Police Academy, and Anadolu Agency in Ankara on October 25, where they will meet with politicians, economists, and NGO representatives.
"Forum on War Journalism and Reporting in Crisis Zones" will be held on October 27 at AAtölye. As part of the Forum, sessions on "Changing Conflict Conditions and War Correspondence", "War Correspondents in Türkiye", and "Global Communications in Wartime" will be held.
Presentation of documents to participants will mark the program's conclusion.
Speakers who have achieved significant success in war journalism are also expected to attend the Forum.
"We will talk about changing conditions and field experiences"
AA News Coordinator Yahya Bostan noted that Anadolu Agency has provided war correspondence training to many local and foreign journalists so far and said, "However, technology and the nature of wars are also changing. We bring together war correspondents from all over the world in Ankara to hear about their experiences in the field and to adapt the training we give to our correspondent friends to change. We will talk about changing conditions and field experiences."
AA has been providing war journalism training for ten years
The "War Journalism Training", which has so far benefited 487 participants (263 Turkish and 224 foreigners) and is only provided by a few institutions worldwide, has been organised in Türkiye by Anadolu Agency and the Police Academy since 2012.
The trainings have so far included participants from 50 nations, including Türkiye, the USA, Afghanistan, the UK, Croatia, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Mongolia, Romania, Syria, Tunisia, and Ukraine.
During the AA News Academy's war journalism training process, expert security forces, academics and journalists teach the theory and practice of the knowledge and rules necessary to safeguard the safety of reporters working under extraordinary circumstances in war, crisis, or natural disaster zones.
The war journalism training lasts 12 days, 62 hours of practice, and 46 hours of theory. It includes courses like media management in extraordinary situations, broadcasting principles on reporting terrorism and violence, social events, surviving in water, personal safety, technology and information transmission security, close defence and advanced driving techniques.
The number of participants in the trainings in Turkish, English, Russian, and Arabic can range from 15 to 25.
At the conclusion of the program, participants will take an exam to test and assess their knowledge.
Students' reporting, photographs, videos, special reporting, and interviews will be assessed during practical training.
Journalists who successfully complete the training will receive the “War Journalism Training Certificate", which is recognised internationally, while journalists who participate in the training will receive the "War Journalism Participation Certificate".