United Nations Archives - WITNESS

WITNESS COMMEMORATES WORLD REFUGEE DAY

alisidiki — Wed, 20 Jun 2018 00:37:27 +0000

According to the United Nations, over 68 million people worldwide have been forced to abandon their homes, communities, families, and life as they know it. On World Refugee Day, we at WITNESS recognize these individuals’ strength, valor, and persistence in their fight for their communities, for human rights and for justice.

Each day, across all of our regions, we are making sure that marginalized voices are heard through dynamic storytelling. Through our partnerships with local grassroots organizations, we provide trainings and free resources for safe, ethical, and effective video advocacy.

Here, listen to one of our partners, Patrick Otim from the Refugee Law Project, talk about the power of video and how it helps him continue his impactful work with refugees:

We particularly want to amplify the voices of refugees around the world who control their own narrative and the way that they are represented across borders. We truly believe in the power of video and technology and how it can be used to amplify refugees’ voices during a time when their stories of courage and community are often co-opted with misinformation, dehumanization, and hate. Today let’s help change this. Today, let’s #standwithrefugees.

Share these resources to make sure that the right voices are heard:

Obtaining Informed Consent (Video | Template)
Field Guide to identifying fake news (via WITNESS partner First Draft News)
Ethical Guidelines for using video
Using Storytelling for video advocacy
Filming incidents of hate

WITNESS at UN to Support Youth Advocating to Stop Climate Change

aimeemartinez — Fri, 04 Dec 2015 16:06:23 +0000

Kelly Matheson, Senior Attorney and Program Manager at WITNESS, recently served as a panelist at the UN’s fourth annual DPI/NGO Youth-Led Briefing on “Youth at the Forefront: Bridging the Gap between Climate Change and Climate Awareness” which focused on the role that today’s youth has in advocating for climate change and bringing about climate action. Kelly discussed the important role our youth will play in mitigating the ongoing climate change crisis in the future and the importance of this discussion ahead of the UN Climate Talks which began this week in Paris.

Kelly also spoke about the work Our Children’s Trust is doing to help 21 youths hold the U.S. government accountable by filing a federal lawsuit against President Obama and eight federal agencies in all 50 states. The lawsuit alleges that the U.S. government has failed to protect the basic human rights to life, liberty, and property for our youngest generation by allowing the use of fossil fuels despite its dangerous impact on the climate system. The fossil fuel industry has been fighting the lawsuit aggressively in order to protect their interests.

In partnership with Our Children’s Trust, WITNESS co-produced the TRUST campaign series videos which showcased nine youth discussing the ways in which the ongoing climate change crisis and the lack of action by the U.S. government is negatively impacting their lives and their futures.

Watch the full playlist of videos here.

WITNESS resources now on UN Women’s Website

bridgette — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 17:24:06 +0000

WITNESS is proud to announce that UN Women, a branch of the United Nations that focuses on gender equality and the empowerment of women, has published a link to our Digital Library in their Virtual Knowledge Centre to End Violence against Women and Girls.

Prominently featured in their Knowledge Center is our guide on How to Interview Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.

This collaboration is a result of WITNESS’ ongoing work with UN Women around issues of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. We are excited by the opportunity to reach more people with our tip sheets, filming guides, and many other resources as a result of this partnership.

Learn more about WITNESS’ work on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence here.