Survival training with the UN's ICT specialists

The first day of training we witnessed was in fact day 10 for 20 participants who hailed from a range of humanitarian agencies, including the WFP, UNHCR and Unicef.

Simulated shootings, ambushes, negotiating minefields and kidnapping were all on the menu for the days ahead. Participants left the comfort of Pisa's Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna university — which specialises in humanitarian training courses and is home to the classroom elements of the course — for a military base that is home to the Italian Airborn Brigade 'Folgore'. A quick transfer from mini-buses to heavy-duty military trucks got the adrenalin pumping and the team wound its way into the interior of the forested training camp.