Video for Change Archives - Page 31 of 53

Dear Mandela: Putting a Documentary to Work Impact does not happen in a straight line: you make the film, show it, and things change. We spent four years shooting Dear Mandela, but it wasn't until we finished that we fully understood where our audience would be. WITNESS February 6, 2013
InformaCam Rises to the Knight News Challenge The same information that journalists and judges use to verify a human rights video is what repressive regimes use to identify and target activists. How can video activists stay credible and safe? ...with InformaCam. WITNESS February 1, 2013
Using a Film to Nail a Dictator Efrain Ríos Montt is going to trial. The brutal Guatemalan dictator is the first head of state to be prosecuted for genocide in genuine proceedings in his own country. And my video evidence helped send him there. By Guest Blogger Pamela Yates WITNESS January 31, 2013
Watching, Documenting, or Participating: A Documentarian’s Ethical Dilemmas When is it okay to watch? When is it okay to shout with the crowd? Filmmaker Chris Kelly explains his bright line between observing and participating. Do you agree? Please share your thoughts in the comments. WITNESS January 25, 2013
Video Advocacy at a Crossroads: 2012’s Dangers & 2013’s Solutions Video is increasingly at the nexus of opportunity and danger for human rights activists. Video helps activists to document, confront, circumvent, and lobby against oppressive authorities—but it also allows those authorities to stalk them. Here's what we think will happen in 2013. WITNESS January 22, 2013
Workers’ Rights = Human Rights: Documenting the American Workforce The Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) prioritizes members' voices when creating original videos that are geared toward advocacy, member engagement and communication, and awareness among potential members. Are these lessons applicable to advocacy in other areas of human rights? WITNESS January 16, 2013
Is This For Real? How InformaCam Improves Verification of Mobile Media Files There is currently a deluge of media coming from the world’s mobile devices for potential use as evidence or trusted sources for journalists. WITNESS and the Guardian Project are working to provide a mechanism, InformaCam, to verify and authenticate this footage. WITNESS January 15, 2013
A Big Year For WITNESS A changing world needs a changed vision: committing to support the millions who can transform the human rights landscape with video. Yvette Alberdingk Thijm January 11, 2013
Ethical Storysharing: My Words, Not My Story If your story isn't yours, what is? Ethical storysharing advocate Aspen Baker tells how her personal abortion story was used to fit someone else's narrative. What are our obligations as advocates, as filmmakers, as editors -- as storysharers? WITNESS January 3, 2013
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. WITNESS December 20, 2012
Two Years After Forced Eviction, Community Fights for Compensation in Rio de Janeiro Yesterday marked two years since government bulldozers arrived at the Restinga community in Rio de Janeiro to demolish the homes and small shops belonging to 153 families. Priscila Néri December 18, 2012
Working for Sex Workers’ Rights in Macedonia Today is International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, and we are thinking back to the events of November 21st, 2008 in Skopje, Macedonia. That night, 23 sex workers, 8 clients, several passers-by and one NGO activist were detained in a police raid geared toward the “suppression of street prostitution”. WITNESS December 17, 2012
16 Days Series: Looking Forward to Solutions for Gender-Based Violence Over the past few weeks, we have highlighted videos and stories on the Human Rights Channel and the blog in honor of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. For this final 16 Days post, we’re highlighting some of the successful solutions and promising strategies that are being developed to address sexual and gender-based violence. WITNESS December 15, 2012
An Open Source Approach to Translation The fact that 72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute is astonishing. And the immense amounts of footage shot and uploaded by citizens in places like Syria, Egypt and Chile reminds us that video is increasingly being used to expose human rights abuses. As more activists turn towards video for advocacy and evidentiary purposes, there is a critical need for accessible training resources that teach how to create and share videos safely, effectively and ethically. Jackie Zammuto December 12, 2012
20 Powerful Moments in Human Rights Video Every year on December 10th, human rights organizations mark International Human Rights Day. To highlight our 20th anniversary and Human Rights Day, we're sharing 20 significant human rights video moments. Compiled by the entire WITNESS team and presented in chronological order, the list reflects instances where video (or film) made a difference: as evidence in a court or tribunal, galvanized mass mobilization or outrage, marked a turning point, a new use of technology for human rights, and more. Matisse Bustos Hawkes December 10, 2012