- Inside the Media Archive: our Cataloging Manual now available online Inside the Media Archive is an ongoing, occasional behind-the-scenes look at the practices, methodologies, tools, and resources the WITNESS Media Archive has developed and implemented to manage our collection of human rights video documentation.
- First ICC trial begins in the Hague On Monday this week the historic and long-awaited first trial of the International Criminal Court began in the Hague. In the dock is Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, a Congolese warlord accused of conscripting children under the age of 15 - some as young as seven - as soldiers in the civil war.
- Saving Human Rights Video from an Online “Deadpool” Perhaps serving as a reminder to video creators that video sharing platforms are not archival repositories for their media (nor do they claim to be), Google Video will be finally shutting down entirely next month. Starting April 29, videos hosted on Google Video will no longer be available for playback; after May 13, the videos will be removed. Google is encouraging content owners to download or migrate their videos to YouTube before the deadline.
- Sharing Truth Two weeks ago I participated in a remarkable event, called Sharing Truth, an international forum convened in Vancouver under the auspices of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada.
- Inside the Media Archive: Archiving Digital Video Inside the Media Archive is an ongoing, occasional behind-the-scenes look at the practices, methodologies, tools, and resources the WITNESS Media Archive has developed and implemented to manage our collection of human rights video documentation.
- Inside the Media Archive: Indexing Human Rights Inside the Media Archive is an ongoing, occasional behind-the-scenes look at the practices, methodologies, tools, and resources we have developed and implemented to manage our collection of human rights video documentation.
- Reimagining the Archive: Rethinking Archival Practice and Theory The tone was set on Friday evening with Rick Prelinger’s animated keynote presentation, in which he spoke about the dynamic nature of moving image archives as sites of creation, participation, artistic practice, and activism rather than as places where content goes to die.
- The Documentation Affinity Group: Embedding Archive in Activism The Documentation Affinity Group (DAG) is a small international peer-to-peer network of local action groups originally established by six NGOs in 2005 to consider the role of documentation in protecting and promoting human rights worldwide.
- Kate Doyle: “Archivists Can Be At the Heart of Accountability and Justice” On October 27, the UNESCO World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, I spoke with Kate Doyle, Senior Analyst of U.S. policy in Latin America at the National Security Archive (NSA), about the Guatemala Project, the notion of the activist archivist and how archives can advocate for open societies.
- WITNESS’ Grace Lile wins 2010 Archival Achievement Award Today is UNESCO World Day for Audiovisual Heritage and so, particularly relevant to share the following great news: our Director of Operations, Grace Lile, has been awarded the 2010 Archival Achievement Award by the Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York.
- Nelson Mandela, Archivist Activist You may have seen a recent 60 Minutes segment on the newest published memoir of Nelson Mandela, perhaps “the most admired man alive” in the words of correspondent Bob Simon. And if you are an archivist, chances are you are familiar with Verne Harris, of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, renowned in his own right, activist archivist sine qua non.
- Using Archival Description to Foster Accountability I first became interested in records documenting the Khmer Rouge period in Cambodia a decade ago, when I was working as the arts and culture web producer for the Asia Society Museum in New York. For the museum’s website, I interviewed the director of a troupe of classical Cambodians dancers who were touring the U.S.
- Archiving Practices Strengthen Human Rights Video Online My name is Taz Morgan. I’m a new intern at the WITNESS Media Archive and was able to attend the two-day Open Video Conference last weekend. There were a few panels dedicated to the discussion of open video specifically in relation to archives, such as the session Yvonne wrote about a few days ago.
- What Does the Open Video Movement Mean For Archives? At the WITNESS Media Archive, we collect, document, preserve, and provide access to human rights videos. Each component in this archiving endeavor contributes to the creation of reliable and authentic records in support of advocacy, prosecution of justice, truthtelling, and historical understanding.
- Archives for Change: Activist Archives, Archival Activism In recognition of Archives Month (October) and UNESCO World Day for Audiovisual Heritage (October 27), Archiving Human Rights will explore the theme of activism, in its myriad word forms and meanings, as it relates to archives and archivists.
Archiving Human Rights
Posts from the WITNESS Media Archive whose mission is to collect, document, preserve and provide access to audiovisual human rights media in the support of advocacy, prosecution of justice, truthtelling and the historical record.
These posts are devoted to news of our activities and work, and to discussion of topics relevant to it, including human rights archives and documentation, audiovisual archiving, social issue documentary, the social justice responsibilities of archives and archivists, etc.
Posts are written by Grace Lile, Director of Operations; Yvonne Ng, Archivist; and occasional other contributors.