- Honoring the 75th Anniversary of Nuremberg On November 29, 1945, only a week into the trial, the . . . prosecution introduced an hour-long film titled ‘The Nazi Concentration Camps.’ When the lights came up in the Palace of Justice all assembled sat in silence. The human impact of this visual evidence was a turning point in the Nuremberg Trial. It […]
- Making the [In]Visible Powerful: Leveraging Climate Visuals in Courts This article first appeared on Open Global Rights in English and Spanish on October 30, 2020. Climate Change in the Courtroom Human rights researcher Alexa Koenig said, “Visuals are often the bridge between lived experiences on the ground and some of the greatest seats of power,” but that was not what Ashley Funk thought would happen when she received her […]
- YOUTH V GOV: A Beacon of Hope YOUTH v GOV, a transformative film directed by former WITNESS partner Christi Cooper about the unparalleled work of another former partner, Our Children’s Trust, premieres at the prestigious DOC NYC Film Festival from November 11-19, 2020. Tickets can be purchased here. The next chance to watch this must-see film won’t be until 2021 so don’t […]
- Camera Justitia: Bringing Human Rights, Law and Film Together Every spring a large gathering of human rights defenders and filmmakers come together for the Movies that Matters Film Festival. While this year’s festival had to move online, the celebration of the selected ground-breaking films moved forward. As part of the festival, an international jury awards one filmmaker with the Camera Justitia Award and €5,000 […]
- How 21 Young People Keep Winning Against the US Gov for Climate Change In 2010, we began working with Our Children’s Trust and iMatter supported by climate scientists, constitutional law professors and faith-based communities to bring attention to a new movement of young people calling on state and federal governments to protect the atmosphere for future generations.
- Video as Evidence: Creating a Plan to Collect Video Evidence In the newest section of the Video as Evidence Field Guide we cover how to create a Collection Plan to ensure the video footage you collect supports justice and accountability instead of being irrelevant or duplicative.
- Video as Evidence: Basic Practices Basic Practices is the newest section in our Video as Evidence Field Guide. This chapter provides principles and guidelines for individuals interested in using video for human rights documentation. The chapter covers getting ready to film, filming, safeguarding your footage and sharing your video.
- Video as Evidence Case Study: Filming Long After A Crime in Croatia We look at a case study where video was used in criminal proceedings against a Serbo-Croatian politician at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
- Video as Evidence: Adding Detailed Information to Your Video Adding information about who, what, when, where to your video makes it easier to verify the content, therefore giving it a better chance to secure justice for human rights abuse.
- Video as Evidence: Filming The Aftermath of a Human Rights Incident Film the aftermath of a human rights incident can be vitally important to investigations. This is the second installment in the "Video as Evidence" blog series from WITNESS.
- Video as Evidence: Turning Citizen Video into Justice Citizen video rarely meets the high bar set for video as evidence. A new guide from WITNESS aims to help.
- Young People Inspiring Young People Through Live Blogging I had never read a live blog before, but that didn't stop me from giving social justice filmmaker Karly Placek the go-ahead to write on my climate change campaign. And I'm glad I did.
- Stand with our Youth: Write to President Obama and Ask for a Climate Recovery Plan Children share a future threatened by climate change, and many have found ways to make their voices heard. The youth of the TRUST Campaign have told their stories in a remarkable series of short videos, and they’ve taken action in the court.
- 16-year-old Climate Advocate Speaks Out on Hurricane Sandy 16-year-old Maya Faison from Queens, New York recently shared her thoughts on Hurricane Sandy and climate change in an article published by Climate Progress. Maya wrote the article on her sixth day without heat, her sixth day without power, and her sixth day with no gas in her mom’s car to escape. What troubled me most in what she shared is this: “I feel let down and disappointed that it’s taken a major storm that has taken over 40 lives and counting for my elected leaders to acknowledge the reality of climate change.”
- After Hurricane Sandy, Our Youth Call on Us: Be Upstanders, Not Bystanders. Vote for Climate Justice! Over the last year, we filmed youth from across the country – literally from Boston, Massachusetts to a village just inland from the Bering Sea – whose lives have already been changed by the deterioration of our Earth’s atmosphere. These award-winning video portraits showcase how our youth are bravely taking legal action against our governments’ collective failure to take serious climate action.