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Over the last few years, we’ve seen a major increase in violent protests in various countries around the world, not least in African countries pushing back against electoral malpractice. From Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Kenya and Uganda – resistance to political protest is contributing to violence against civilians.  To help grassroots activists get started on documenting their stories and getting their voices heard, our Africa team prepared a very short guide to some of the key resources that we at WITNESS have developed to film protests safely.

We believe that activists around the world at the front line of protest actions will find this information useful. If you plan on using video for advocacy or for evidence, you can adapt them to suit your goal. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions or comments on our materials at africa_cons[at]witness[dot]org

Before you start filming:

  1. Before filming: An Illustrated Guide for video advocacy
  2. An activist’s guide to mobile video sound (video)
  3. Filming protests, demonstrations and police conduct
  4. How to film protests (video)
  5. Video as Evidence, Basic Practices

As you film

  1. Conducting interviews (video)
  2. Conducting interviews safely
  3. Obtaining informed consent
  4. A template for obtaining informed consent
  5. Filming in Teams
  6. Using video for human rights documentation (injuries/casualties) 

After you finish filming

  1. After filming: An illustrated guide for video advocacy
  2. How to create secure, transferable video
  3. How to distribute your video

Download all guides (8MB). Download all videos (692MB).

Next steps

When you have time, we invite you to work through our entire video advocacy curriculum that could help you turn your immediate efforts into a full human rights campaign. We also have an extensive Video as Evidence guide on the site, should you begin documenting violent protests anticipating future litigation.

Our Africa team is happy to help making these resources work for you. Please email us at africa_cons[at]witness[dot]org

2 thoughts on “A Quick Guide to Safely Filming Protests in Africa

  1. To eradicate the dictators in Africa, this will be a tool to show their brutal face of the so called government to the world.

  2. Helloo my dear friend.Thank you for such nice guidance on filming for protest.How can I get the guide please I am living in Oromia region of Ethiopia where protest against inhuman actions of the govrnment becomes very serious even to survive as human biengs.I look forward to hear from you.
    Thank you.

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