The SMC and the Red Cross Society of Seychelles (RCSS) collaborated to conduct an "Access & Safety" training that addressed International Humanitarian Laws (IHL) and human rights in light of the risks that journalists and media personnel’s confront on a daily basis.
The program, which spanned over the course of two weeks, from Monday 9th – Tuesday 10th September and from Monday 16th – Tuesday 17th September had the participation of nineteen (19) participants from a broad spectrum of media personnel, such as health and safety officers, journalists and presenters, operators of cameras, lights, and sound, and photographers offering which participants the flexibility to attend the sessions according to their availability.

Facilitators for the first day of the session included Sarah Mabeza, an expert in International Humanitarian Law (IHL) with sixteen years of experience as a regional legal advisor who spoke about the IHL and the protection it provides to Journalists. Mrs. Nichole Tirant-Gherardi, Ex Ombudsman and member of the Human Rights Commission followed up on the first presentation by elaborating upon the Third Chapter of the Seychelles Constitution which lays out the rights of citizens, rights from which journalists benefit from and the functions of the various institutions.
Journalism Safety Trainer, Ms. Tessa Henderson led the afternoon session and discussed the significance of journalism safety whilst highlighting various experiences and scenarios which have occurred in the past that test journalism safety.

On the second day, participants were led into a talk by psychologist Mr. Dereck Meriton who spoke about psychological support and how media professionals can better look after their mental health as well as provided a range of scenarios media practitioners encounter on a daily basis and how to best tackle them.

To end the session, the Secretary General of the RCSS explored the benefits and importance of having SOPs in place as well as how they can guide practitioners in the event of an emergency or disaster followed by group work with the participants looking at their own media houses’ SOPs, and answering questions based on dealing with disasters and emergencies.

The program also sought out partners from the Seychelles Police Force, the Disaster Risk Management Division (DRMD) and potentially representatives from the Electoral Commission for small presentations on their role in Elections pertaining to Access and Safety.

Moving forward, media houses now have to work on their Safety and Emergency plans. The submission of the draft documents have been scheduled for February 2025. The SMC and the Red Cross are planning further training next year, based on recommendations from participants.