- Human Rights Discussed at the ICSR Peace and Security Summit Earlier this month, I attended a summit held by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR). The Peace and Security Summit brought together a great number of policymakers, diplomats, senior officials and experts from across the globe to explore the issue of peace and security in contemporary society.
- Three Must-See Documentaries Suggested by Landon van Soest This summer we are presenting a guest blog series in which past winners of the WITNESS Award (which we present at Silverdocs) discuss their top 3 picks from among social justice/human rights documentaries or films for the year. Landon van Soest is the director/producer of Good Fortune, the Award winner in 2009. Below he shares with us his picks.
- WITNESS at the Int’l Human Rights Funders Group Conference Last week, on behalf of WITNESS, I participated in the International Human Rights Funders Group (IHRFG) semi-annual conference. The IHRFG is an association of grantmakers supporting human rights projects.
- New Documentary Explores Migrant Child Labor in the United States Last Thursday, WITNESS was invited to The Paley Center for Media for a screening of a special segment of NBC's Dateline, titled America Now: Children of the Harvest.
- Producer Ben Nabors Talks To WITNESS About the Film “Moving Windmills” Back on May 7th, WITNESS' Christine Umali blogged about attending the Good Pitch at the Tribeca Film Festival. There, she got a front row seat to a very distinct, social justice oriented version of commercial pitching by filmmakers.
- WITNESS at Human Rights Watch International Film Festival 2010: Backyard (El Traspatio) Last Tuesday, June 22nd we, WITNESS’ new external relations interns, were given the glorious opportunity of attending the New York premiere of Backyard (El Traspatio) at the Human Rights International Watch Film Festival.
- Forensic Anthropology, Video, and Archives In mid-April, an episode of NPR program "Speaking of Faith," featuring a representative of the Argentine forensic anthropology team (EAAF) aired. The guest spoke about how recovering the remains of victims of repressive regimes leads to healing, the re-writing of history, and the prosecution of justice.
- Thoughts on archives “fitting in”, and processing the Rainlake donation. I have had the pleasure of interning in the WITNESS Media Archive for the past semester. I chose this internship because I hoped to put my Masters in Human Rights Studies and my Masters in Library Science to work in the video archive.
- Mixing Business and Pleasure – Fundraising Among Friends As my birthday approached last week I became increasingly uneasy. It had nothing to do with my age as you might suspect. Let me explain. For the last two years WITNESS has launched a spring drive fundraising appeal. Our staff, board and close supporters reach out to their personal and professional networks to ask them to donate to WITNESS.
- A Canadian Model for Human Rights Awareness The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) and the global online youth-led social network TakingITGlobal (TIG) have joined forces to create EVOKE—a national online art contest that calls on Canadian youth to share their perspectives on human rights issues through visual art.
- Moving Pictures at the Tribeca Film Festival Our good friends at the Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation invited WITNESS to be a part of the Good Pitch at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. A commercial pitch forum brings filmmakers, funders and distributors together sort of parliamentary debate style.
- Groundbreaking Use of Video Helps Win Case for Indigenous Endorois People in Kenya In 1973 the Kenyan Endorois community was evicted from their land. In 2009 their case was taken to court, and with the help of WITNESS, they produced a film about their story which ultimately helped lead to a decision requiring the government to restitute their lands with compensation.
- Our Last Day at ‘Roo Well, last night’s Kanye West performance turned into an early morning set. After a long delay, the sun started coming up and by the time we walked back to camp it was full daylight. Still it was worth it to have seen both a Tennessee sunrise and sunset. The tent has been busy as festival […]
- Sunshine! Despite more rain this morning, lots of people have been coming by the WITNESS tent. The sun came out in time for a really fun set by Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings. I’ve also had an awesome time sharing the experience with all the other non-profits at Planet Roo. Folks from Oxfam, Carbon Shredders, […]
- Bonnaroo 2008!!! WITNESS On the Road is back this summer and we’re kicking things off with Bonnaroo. The annual Bonnaroo Music Festival brings 90,000 people to the farmlands of Tennessee. WITNESS staff (that’s Miyoko our Development Associate in the photo) and volunteers are set up at Planet Roo a special area of the music festival designated for […]
