WK326 Video as a human rights tool
Video can give a powerful eye-witness account of human rights abuses and be an excellent tool for educating and motivating people to act. NGOs can learn to use video effectively in human rights advocacy.
Panelists
Featured Tactic: Tamaryn Nelson,
WITNESS, USA
Complementary Presentations (organizations trained by WITNESS)
Featured Tactic
Empowering NGOs to use video in human rights advocacy Tamaryn Nelson, WITNESS, USA WITNESS empowers human rights organizations around the world to incorporate video as an advocacy tool in their work. Rooted in the power of personal testimonies and in the principle that a picture is worth a thousand words, the videos of WITNESS and its partners have been used
- as evidence in legal proceedings;
- to stimulate grassroots education and mobilization;
- to provide information for news broadcasts;
- to promote human rights via the internet; and
- to produce documentaries for broadcast on television worldwide.
WITNESS has created partnerships with more than 150 groups in 50 countries on a variety of issues. Once a partnership is established, WITNESS provides the group with video equipment and training, then follows up with workshops in camera techniques, intensive instruction in using video for human rights work, evaluation of footage, postproduction assistance and constructive feedback to create powerful documentaries. WITNESS recognizes that, depending on the context, a human rights advocate may be protected or endangered by using a camera. WITNESS uses the experience of its staff and partners to help others create safe and appropriate policies for their situations. It also stresses the importance of trust between the person filming and the person being filmed, and clearly explains the risks and benefits of speaking to a camera.
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