Frontline Travel from Open Briefing, is a free travel security advice for freelance journalists and camera crews who are traveling or working in high-risk countries.
Independent media are essential to the protection of human rights, the proper functioning of democracies, and the exposure of corruption and other crimes. This is even more true in countries gripped by armed conflict or struggling under authoritarian regimes
If you work in news and documentaries you may well find yourself getting sent to a country that is potentially dangerous to be working in. I can tell you from experience that it is best to do as much homework as possible in advance to find out what the dangers are and how you should prepare for your trip.
How does it work?
Using automated workflows, a country threat rating tool, and an adapted version of the Minimum Operating Travel Security Standards (MOTSS), Frontline Travel can produce targeted security guidance whenever you need it most.
All you have to do is fill out a very quick questionnaire and supply your email address and within one hour, Open Briefing will send you a document with security guidance for the country you want to travel to.
Above you can see the steps involved. For this example, I used Syria as the country.
It is great to see a free resource like this being made available. Now, I would not rely on this and this alone. It is always good to get as much advice from specialist organizations and people who are actually in country before you head off on assignment.
Currently, Frontline Travel is only available in English and Spanish.
