HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT SAFETY TRAINING COURSES

Hostile Environment Safety Training (HEST/HEAT) courses are bespoke to meet the needs and requirements of the individual and/or organisation. Whilst they are principally attended by media professionals; journalists, reporters and NGOs (or businesses working in high-risk areas) we rarely mix them as their needs and working practices are generally very different. 

Our Hostile Environment Safety Courses focus on training the individual in order to identify and be aware of the risks at the earliest opportunity in order to take action to avoid or manage that risk, so they can undertake the task in hand. The training is generally a minimum of 2 days residential course and can be as long as 5 days.

For the last 20 years, we have held the Hostile Environment Safety Awareness Training (HEST/HEAT/HEFAT) contract for the European Broadcast Union (EBU) Academy, delivering 5-day training courses. Training media professionals including journalists, from all the major European Broadcasters including: ARD, NOS, NRK, RAI, BBC, SR, RSI, VRT.

During our HEST courses for journalists, freelance journalists, and reporters, we appreciate the need to ensure the course has a strong journalistic focus. Therefore, one of our instructors is always a journalist. We are fortunate to be supported by Robert Adams, a cameraman with over 25 years of frontline reporting, Eric Feitjen and Peter Ter Velde. Both Eric and Peter have years of experience with Dutch television broadcaster NOS. We have also delivered training courses for Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, Channel 4 and Trinity Mirror Group. and many others media outlets.

 

The content of each Hostile environment course is flexible

For NGOs, charities, business travellers, large corporations, church groups, we focus more on working in the local environment and with local communities. For journalists, reporters, cameramen and media teams and drone journalism, especially in conflict zones, the focus is on managing the risks as a journalist or reporter and concentrating on some of the key risks such as the threat from authoritarian regimes through to negotiating checkpoints, mines and IED avoidance.      

Hostile Environment Safety Training (HEST/HEAT): Staying Safe when Overseas    

Situation awareness
Security risk assessments 
Personal safety
Medical - preserving life and trauma through to tropical medicine
Negotiating checkpoints
Weapons and ballistics
Terrorism and media coverage of terrorist attacks
Guidance on emotional trauma and P.T.S.D.
Working and filming in riots and crowds 
Mines and booby trap awareness
Navigation; GPS and compass
Kidnap avoidance and conduct if taken 
Basic vehicle mechanics and extracting injured persons
 

COURSE PRICES and options

Objective Travel Safety HEST Training - Call for prices. Hostile Environment Safety Training (HEST) with EBU Academy, book places directly on EBU Academy wesite or contact us.

EBU HEST: 27th - 30th January 2025

EBU HEST: 24th - 27th March 2025

EBU HEST: 19th - 22nd May 2025

EBU HEST: 15th - 18th September 2025

EBU HEST: 20th - 23rd October 2025

 

How U.S. News Crew's can Stay Safe During Civil Unrest - New online couRSe (with the EBU AcAdemy)

The January 6th. attack on the U.S. Capitol building put a new focus on the safety of journalists based in America. In this U.S. election year, We are offering, in conjunction with the EBU Academy, American-based correspondents of EBU members an opportunity to learn how to better protect themselves in civil unrest situations. Our 4 hour online course will equip you with the knowledge to identify threats and reduce any risks to you and your crew’s personal safety. Training delivered online using instructor-led discussion, presentation, video examples and interactive teaching. 

 



 

 

 

Want to find out more?

Check out the HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT SAFETY TRAINING course for more detail.

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