The hands‑on training for journalism educators in stress and trauma held recently in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, focused on trauma‑informed journalism; a critical but often overlooked area within journalism education.
Rather than a one‑way transfer of expertise, the training was built around shared learning and local experience. Participants reflected together on the realities journalists face in Ethiopia, exchanged teaching approaches and adapted global perspectives on stress and trauma to the local context.
Five journalism educators, including two women, took part in the sessions led by Zelalem Tesfaye, Assistant Professor of Journalism at Bahir Dar University. Funded by UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), it placed knowledge sharing and co‑creation at the centre of efforts to strengthen journalism education and practice. A separate session focused on how to implement the course among students of journalism.
“In a region like Bahir Dar and the wider Amhara area, where communities continue to feel the effects of conflict and an unstable security situation, building capacity around stress and trauma is essential,” Tesfaye noted.
Journalists often work under intense pressure, exposed to violence, loss and human suffering first hand, while lacking formal support structures.
Despite this reality, stress and trauma have long been under‑discussed in journalism education across the world, including the Horn of Africa. Newsroom pressures, economic insecurity and conflict exposure are widespread, yet these challenges are frequently treated as individual burdens rather than professional and institutional responsibilities.
Later this year, the trained educators will roll out Ethiopia’s first extra‑curricular, university‑level course on managing stress and trauma for journalism students. The course will be introduced at five universities across the country, equipping students with both practical tools and critical awareness to better manage the psychological demands of reporting.
By embedding these issues into journalism education, the initiative helps normalise conversations around mental health and wellbeing, breaking long‑standing taboos in academic and professional settings.
This training marks an important step towards a more resilient and sustainable media sector. By combining professional skills with emotional awareness and self‑care strategies, journalism educators can better prepare students for the realities of working in complex and often high‑risk environments.
