Digital and physical security training: media professionals strengthen their capabilities

Africtivistes and Article 19 are organizing a two-day workshop on January 16 and 17, 2025 to strengthen the capacities of journalists, reporters, technicians and other media professionals in digital and physical security. This workshop, funded by Open Society-Africa (OSA Senegal), comes in a context of growing threats against journalists, including cyberattacks and violence on the ground.

The objective of the workshop is to raise awareness among journalists and media professionals about current digital threats, provide online security practices, train on managing physical security in the field and protect personal data and privacy. private life. The program includes good online security practices, management of risky situations in the field and data protection. During this event, Maateuw Mbaye, workshop coordinator at Article 19, explained the importance of this event: “We are here today as part of a project entitled “Liberating the voice of our voices” aimed at to promote the opening of civic space and strengthen the resilience of the media, funded by Open Society Foundation Senegal. Our studies show a critical need to strengthen media capabilities in the face of growing digital threats such as cyberbullying, phishing, and other malicious tactics. » Furthermore, the program coordinator at Article 19 underlines that “the data from this study revealed that there is a digital infrastructure put in place by these media to protect against certain types of threats. However, there is a crucial need to build media capacity on the tools and best practices to use to better protect themselves online, in the face of increasingly sophisticated threats.” He added: “It is essential to adopt best practices such as setting strong passwords using special characters, installing antivirus on computers and using VPNs to secure Internet connections. These measures help protect data and ensure a secure working environment for journalists. » Workshop participants will also learn how to manage their physical security in the field, particularly when covering sensitive events. At the end of this workshop, journalists and other media professionals will have an in-depth understanding of the main digital threats and best practices to protect themselves, both online and in the field. They will be better equipped to navigate an increasingly hostile environment and continue to play their crucial role in society.

SOPHIA MANGA (TRAINEE)