The participants improved their skills in research, safety training, work ethics, photographic fieldwork and visual editing. Topics like gender issues, women’s rights, migration, tourism, climate changes, minority groups and religious rituals were some of the topics explored.
The participants all made handmade books presenting their projects during a final presentation at the venue Yellow House in Kathmandu. The projects were also screened outdoors for a large audience.
Sagar Chhetri and Uma Bista were mentors from photo.circle and Nepal, Ashraful Huda and Turjo Mushifiq from Pathshala in Bangladesh and Ellen Lande Gossner from OsloMet.
«Also This Will Change» is the main title of the program, and the 22 documentary projects will be displayed and presented in different forms in the respective countries – book, exhibition and online presentation.
A special issue on climate journalism education is available from The journal Journalism Education, published by Association for Journalism Education, UK and Ireland. The special issue is edited by Elisabeth Eide, OsloMet and Risto Kunelius, University of Helsinki, and with contributions from scholars in the MediaClimate network and others across continents.
There will also be a podcast out soon, where Chris Frost, one of the permanent editors of the journal, is interviewed, thanks to our web-editor Syed M Saqib Saleem. More podcasts will appear, presenting the content.
– Journalism is at a very worrying stage when you consider the attacks that are directed towards journalists. It makes some of the upcoming journalists worried, it makes some journalism students worried. But I encourage you, young people to join journalism because this profession is very important to our country, said Abubaker Lubowa, an Ugandan photojournalist.
Lubowa was one of the local trainers at a four-day journalists safety training at Makerere University. He continued:
– The attacks happening to some of us in Uganda and other parts of the world should not discourage you from joining journalism and to work in places that seem to be dangerous, because this profession is a noble calling.
The photojournalist narrated the ordeal that he and his colleagues went through in March 2025, when they were attacked by the military and the police, while covering a parliamentary bi-election in one of Kampala’s constituencies of Kawempe North. During this election more than 30 journalists were attacked by the police and the military.
The safety of journalists training that took place from 24. – 27. March, was organised by the Department of Journalism and Communication, Makerere University with support from Journalism & Media International Centre, OsloMet University. A total of 21 female and nine male final year journalism students participated in the training.
Abeer Saady, experienced and internationally renown safety trainer lead the workshop. She encouraged participants to be resilient amidst threats they face while practicing journalism. Since 2017 the JMIC/OsloMet has been supporting the Department of Journalism and Communication at Makerere University to organise safety and security trainings for early career journalists and final year journalism students.
Uganda is one of the unsafe countries for journalists, especially those who cover opposition politicians and politics in general. According to the 2024 Reporters without Borders report, Uganda ranks 128th out of 180 countries in press freedom, with journalists facing intimidation and violence by the military and other security services on a regular basis. With Uganda heading to the general elections early in 2026, incidents of attacks on journalists, especially the ones covering politics are likely to escalate, making it necessary to prepare journalists to deal with threats.
The training focused on a wide range of topics ranging from digital safety, risk management and safety planning while covering riots and violent election campaign events, safety planning, and situational awareness. Other topics included dealing with gendered threats and ethical dilemmas related to safety.
Participants appreciated the training for equipping them with such important skills. One of the participants, Jackson Odongo said:
“Hearing raw, real-world stories from seasoned journalists replaced my fears with courage to report boldly. The training armed me with tools and confidence to face the field challenges while staying true to our mission.”
Another participant, Sumin Kagoya noted that:
“Online safety hygiene training was really enlightening and applicable to my path as a journalism student. Understanding the fundamentals of digital safety hygiene has given me the ability to safeguard my sensitive data and online presence at a time when cyber threats are becoming more complex.”
The 22 nd collaborative international visual storytelling program is taking place in Kathmandu and Nepal in February and March, starting with a fiveday workshop February 10.
22 participants and four mentors from thre countries.
22 participants from Bangladesh, Nepal and Norway were preparing for their four week field trip working on individual documentaries. 8 students from Nepal, 8 from Bangladesh and 6 from Norway. Photo.circle was the organizer and host of the program, and Pathshala and OsloMet contribute with mentors. The project is supported by Norad through the collaboration with OsloMet to strengthen freedom of speech and journalism internationally.
The participants introducing each other the first day of the workshop.
Sagar Chhetri, Ashraful Huda, Turjo Mushfiq and Ellen Lande Gossner lectured and mentored the students in one to one sessions and facilitated group discussions. The students were very much engaged in groups discussions regarding storytelling, editing, journalistic methods and ethics. The aim for the workshop was to prepare the students for their travels all over Nepal. They will work on topics like healthcare for women, minorities, migration, religion and climate changes with the overall title for the projects: “Also This Will Change”.
March 17 the group and mentors will gather for an editing workshop to complete the program.
The workshop at Yala Maya Kendra in Kathmandu.Dinner and dancing at the end of the week.Walking down Kathmandu valley together.
