WITNESS’ Executive Director Yvette Alberdingk Thijm on TED.com
At the 2017 Skoll World Forum’s TEDxSkoll our executive director Yvette Alberdingk Thijm was invited to speak on the theme of “truth”. We’re honored to announce that her TED talk has now been published on TED.com to be shared more widely. In her TED talk, Yvette addresses the question: Could smartphones be the most powerful weapon for social justice? With citizens around the world armed with cameras, videos and photos chronicling human rights violations are rising, and the power of distant witnesses is just beginning.
Through her leadership of WITNESS, Yvette develops strategies and exclusive technologies to help activists and eyewitnesses ensure each video brings us one step closer to justice. WITNESS, is a global network of activists that helps anyone, anywhere use the power of video and technology to protect and defend human rights.
Yvette believes in the potential of citizen media to level the playing field for marginalized communities and tell stories of truth that contradict the self-serving narratives of the powerful. With millions of people as potential civic witnesses, video can be an important source of data about violations, disprove false narratives, be used as evidence, or expose patterns of exclusion. WITNESS works in collaboration with activists and ordinary citizens creating tools, strategies, and solutions to bolster the credibility of alternative voices, support the strategic use of civic media to create concrete change and make it possible for millions to be safe, ethical, and effective witnesses for human rights.