Journalists received hands-on training in the field
The second Brazilian training course for journalists covering peacekeeping missions and conflict areas took place on 11 to 15 May 2009 in Rio de Janeiro. This initiative was made possible by an ongoing partnership between the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Rio de Janeiro and the Brazilian Army's Sergio Viera de Mello Training Centre for Peacekeeping Operations (CI Op Paz), which was created in 2007 to train all Brazilian military personnel in peacekeeping missions in Haiti and elsewhere.
The intensive five-day course was attended by 19 journalists from a variety of Brazilian news organizations, such as the newspapers Folha de S. Paulo and Estado de S. Paulo, the weekly magazine Veja and the TV network Globo.
The agenda for the course included lectures on many subjects such as the United Nations System, human rights and humanitarian international law, Brazilian foreign policy and defense policy, the MINUSTAH mission in Haiti, the role of communication in peacekeeping operations and the evolution of UN peacekeeping strategy.
The course also provided two days of practical activities in the field, including security training in conflict situations, first aid training, identification of mines, use of GPS and hostage negotiation. Participants stayed on the premises of the CI Op Paz, where they worked as embedded journalists with a Brazilian Army unit serving in a fictional UN peacekeeping mission in a fictional country, Tudistan. While there the journalists were exposed to meticulously reconstructed risk situations such as mortar shelling and a car bomb suicide attack and were taught how to respond to these types of situations.
The Director of UNIC Rio de Janeiro gave a lecture on the UN structure and procedures, paying special attention to the area of peacekeeping and the work of the Security Council. Both the Director and the National Information Officer of UNIC Rio provided assistance to participants for the duration of the course.