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The ICC Renders Its First Sentence: Is Justice Served for Congolese Child Soldiers?
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has rendered it’s first ever sentence in the case of Mr. Thomas Lubanga, a Congolese warlord and leader of UPC (Union Patriotique Congolais). Lubanga was convicted, as co-perpetrator, on three counts of war crimes including enlisting and conscripting of children under the age of 15 and using them to participate actively in hostilities in the Ituri region, in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between September 2002 and June 2003.
WITNESS
September 25, 2012
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Personal Reflection on Human Rights Values and the Anti-Muslim Video
I'd like to share my views on the recent events as a human rights advocate who has used/is using video for human rights change - particularly recently in North Africa and the Middle East; as an African; and as a Christian.
WITNESS
September 19, 2012
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Video Advocacy Example: Waste and Recycling Workers’ Rights in Los Angeles
Every American produces garbage. The issue of what happens to this waste is relevant to all of us. Before watching this video, it had never occurred to me that waste plant workers in the U.S. are encountering human rights abuses on a daily basis.
WITNESS
June 26, 2012
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كيف تصور الاحتجاجات:٥ أجزاء فيديو عن التصوير من أجل التغيير
"أنا خادم لشعبى . أنامراسل. طالما يستمع الناس إلى قصتي، سأظل أعمل على إيصال رسالتي، مهما كانت العواقب."
Raja Althaibani
June 15, 2012
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Video Advocacy Example: Hope for Intravenous Drug Users In Russia
The Andrey Rylkov Foundation (ARF) is the only organization providing needle exchange for drug users in Moscow. Their mission is to promote and develop humane drug policy based on tolerance, protection of health, dignity and human rights.
WITNESS
June 14, 2012
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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
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Anatomy of a Good Advocacy Video
At WITNESS, we rotate facilitators at our weekly staff meetings. If assigned as facilitator, the person is responsible for doing some research and sharing a current advocacy video of interest.
WITNESS
May 10, 2012
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Video Advocacy Example: New Voices in Sex Workers’ Rights Activism
As advances in technology democratize the media field, its makers are becoming more and more diverse, presenting a prime opportunity for traditional advocates to become facilitators and traditional “victims” to become actors in advocacy scenarios.
WITNESS
March 27, 2012
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Kony 2012: Juggling Advocacy, Audience and Agency When Using #Video4Change
"Kony 2012" is now the most rapidly disseminated human rights video ever. In six days it reached an aggregate 100 million views – faster than other pop culture phenomena like Susan Boyle (9 days), Rebecca Black (45 days) and ‘Charlie Bit My Finger’ (445 days).
Sam Gregory
March 17, 2012
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Understanding #Kony2012 as #Video4Change
Over the past several days, there’s been a flurry of activity and online discussion around “Kony 2012” the now-ubiquitous video on Joseph Kony created by the U.S.-based group Invisible Children.
WITNESS
March 9, 2012
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A Few Reasons Activsts Shouldn’t be Banned from the Internet
Last month on Human Rights Day (December 10th) I wrote an opinion piece for the HuffingtonPost about the increasingly important role technology companies and platforms are playing in the human rights landscape.
Yvette Alberdingk Thijm
January 23, 2012
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A Hidden Truth: Gender-Based Violence in Zambia
In commemoration of the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign, we are highlighting activists and organizations who are using the power of video in their campaigns to address gender-based violence through a series of guest posts. Read previous posts in this series.
WITNESS
November 29, 2011
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Occupy Wall Street: A Day of Global (Video) Action, Nov. 17, 2011
If you are like many WITNESS staff, you are tuned into the events of today's global actions in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Despite the recent events in New York City, Oakland, CA, and other cities where "permanent" encampments were cleared away, protesters around the U.S. and the world are back in city centers protesting today.
Matisse Bustos Hawkes
November 17, 2011
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Leading By Example: Video Advocacy Storytelling and the Story of Broke
We at witness are always excited to come across advocacy videos that educate and inspire audiences on human rights issues. When Annie Leonard’s Story of Stuff was released in December of 2007, probably no one imagined a 20-minute video would make front page of The New York Times and receive over 15 million views-- but it did.
WITNESS
November 9, 2011
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What Do You Want to Learn from Video Activists in the Middle East and North Africa?
For most of us, the epicenter of video for change work that we’ve seen throughout 2011 has been in the Middle East and North African region (MENA). The Arab Spring has illuminated the reality of what “Cameras Everywhere” looks like, and what the power of instant video capturing and sharing can yield to inform and mobilize for truly incredible social change.
WITNESS
October 19, 2011