This post was written by WITNESS board member Mike Volpi. Mr. Volpi is one of WITNESS’ newest board members and is a partner at Index Ventures. Photo courtesy of Index Ventures.
As a new member of the board, I am incredibly excited about being able to contribute to WITNESS and its cause. WITNESS is an innovative organization at heart. The notion of using video to raise awareness and create action around human rights issues in the world was novel when WITNESS started – and even today, the organization continues to leverage technology to create and deliver it’s messages to people around the world – especially decision-makers. As a person who has spent many years in the technology business, I am delighted to contribute to further mature the innovative spirit of this organization. Today, more than ever, technology and the Internet are evolving at an incredible pace. Being able to harness everything that is happening around us – social media, video, mobility, etc. – is a critical asset for WITNESS and we fully intend to continue in our principle of being early and smart adopters of technology to further our cause.
Another key aspect of WITNESS’ ethos is about creating change, not just raising awareness. Getting people around the world to become aware of human rights violations is important, but, even more importantly, something has to be done to address these issues. WITNESS’ focus on such action is what makes this organization special. Of course, all organizations want to create change, but we unfortunately often confuse that with just bringing an issue to light. The partnering that WITNESS has done with local organizations around the world has allowed us to be especially effective and getting authorities – global, regional, or local to take action around these human rights issues and change the status quo. This ethos is alive and well at WITNESS – and a big draw to all those that engage with this organization (me included).
I am looking forward to a long and fruitful relationship with WITNESS and to all the change we can create to make this world a better place.
What else can i say that it’s a good article. I’ll probably translate it in greek and show the original source.