Ideas Archives - Page 3 of 7

16 Days Series: Revealing Rape – How to Illustrate a Crime Women describe their rapes from behind black face scarves in videos on our site that documents sexualized violence in Syria. We have no photos of women whose faces aren’t covered. We have few photos of survivors of rape even with their faces covered. Sometimes these women hide themselves for religious reasons or for safety—for fear of retribution for speaking out—but oftentimes they cover themselves out of mortification. Rape has taken their cultural purity. WITNESS December 6, 2012
You Are Being Watched: What Faceprints Mean for Generation Y On July 18, YouTube launched a new tool that would enable users to blur the faces in the videos they uploaded, thereby protecting the identities of people featured in them. The platform explicitly identified the human rights threat as a primary motivator for this online technological development. WITNESS August 21, 2012
Oral History as Storytelling: Sharing the Fabric of American Life WITNESS and StoryCorps both recognize the value of personal stories in tackling larger issues. People are at the heart of each organization, anchoring the abstract in the human experience. WITNESS August 9, 2012
The (Virtual) Bystander Effect: Witnessing Human Rights Abuse Online When a video goes viral, millions of people become witnesses. Whether it is a clumsy kitten, an adorable child, or a gruesome protest, we as viewers are transported to that moment. We see everything. We hear everything. But we change nothing. WITNESS July 20, 2012
Ideas, Buzz Words and Connections at the Social Innovation Summit 2012 What do the President of JP Morgan Chase Foundation, Lady Gaga’s mother, a young woman computer programming whiz, the former Hollywood director of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, the Chairman of World Economic Forum and a former NFL player have in common? They all spoke, along with many more, at the Social Innovation Summit of 2012, held at the United Nations last week. WITNESS June 6, 2012
20 Years of Witnessing It is hard to believe it has been 20 years since WITNESS was born in the aftermath of the Rodney King incident. Since then, WITNESS made it its mission to enable people to use video as a powerful tool in human rights advocacy and we are proud to have trained over 3,000 human rights activists and collaborated with over 300 groups in more than 80 countries. Yvette Alberdingk Thijm June 1, 2012
Tactical and Technological Defences For Facial Recognition Technology In my last post I looked at how facial recognition technology (FRT) works, how it's now in our phones, social networks and media management, and how legislators and regulators are reacting to this. But it's also increasingly used by law enforcement and for surveillance of "public" spaces. WITNESS May 18, 2012
Mother’s Day Reflections on Human Rights from WITNESS Moms The second Sunday in May is celebrated as Mother's Day here in the United States (and in other countries). With that in mind, I asked my colleagues who are also mothers at WITNESS if they'd be willing to share some thoughts on what human rights issues hit closest to home for them. Matisse Bustos Hawkes May 13, 2012
The Face of a Revolution: Debating Privacy in the Digital Age You probably know a 26-year-old woman. Is she your sister? Friend, or daughter? Perhaps she’s fiery and stubborn. Perhaps she takes singing lessons. Perhaps she’s engaged to be married. WITNESS March 11, 2012
WITNESS, Technology and #Video4Change at #SXSW WITNESS is at #SXSWInteractive, one of the world's largest conferences focused on interactive technologies and online innovation. Sam Gregory March 10, 2012
Amy Robbins: Join Me In Supporting WITNESS For the Next 20 Years As WITNESS celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, I wanted to write a brief note to describe why I support this outstanding, and vital organization. I know many of you reading this share my view because you, too, strongly support WITNESS’s efforts. WITNESS January 31, 2012
Why Global Organizations Are Joining the SOPA Blackout Strike At Global Voices, we understand that we, collectively, are the Internet. Our individual participation is what makes the Internet a global conversation of startling depth and variety, but this is possible only because of its open technical and legal structure. WITNESS January 18, 2012
Why Stephanie Zito, Traveler, Blogger and Humanitarian Supports WITNESS For our year-end post, we asked a supporter to share a personal story about why she cares about the organization and our partners. You can show your support for WITNESS by visiting our website to make a year-end donation. Thanks to Stephanie Zito for her support and to all of you who support us throughout the year. WITNESS December 31, 2011
Thank You for Your Support of WITNESS in 2011 It's been an incredible year for human rights and video. Thanks for all of your support of WITNESS and our partners in 2011: Matisse Bustos Hawkes December 27, 2011
U.S. Needs Strong Privacy Protections for Digital Communications One of the most cherished rights in the United States is the Constitution's Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable government searches, which has long protected the privacy of Americans’ homes and communications. But as technology has rapidly advanced, this right—long a crown jewel of U.S. civil liberties—has not been fully applied to protect digital communications. WITNESS November 7, 2011