Sarah Kerr, Author at WITNESS

WITNESS and FiSahara Train Human Rights Defenders and Video Activists from Western Sahara

Sarah Kerr — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 15:19:49 +0000

By Isabelle Mbaye

Disponible en français ici.

In February 2016, WITNESS and FiSahara conducted a week-long intensive training on how to use video as a tool for human rights advocacy, in the Sahrawi refugee camps located in the Tindouf province of Algeria.

WITNESS has been working in partnership with the Western Sahara International Film Festival (FiSahara) for the past 3 years on training video activists and human rights defenders from Western Sahara occupied territories and the refugee camps to raise awareness on the human rights abuse regularly committed by the Moroccan Authority.

Western Sahara has been occupied by Morocco since 1975 after Spain renounced control of the territory. Morocco immediately annexed the area leading to a war between the Polisario Front, a Sahrawi national liberation movement, and the Moroccan Government. In 1991 a truce was reached. As part of the agreement the Moroccan government agreed to allow for an independence referendum in Western Sahara. 25 years later Saharawis are still waiting to vote.

Following the war, thousands of Saharawi fled to southwest Algeria and have been living since then in harsh conditions in refugee camps in the Sahara Desert. For those who stayed in Western Sahara, many continue to protest against Moroccan occupation, and can be subject to violent human right abuses such as beatings, torture, arbitrary arrests and imprisonment. Morocco heavily restricts the presence of journalists and international human rights monitors in the occupied territory, meaning many of these abuses go undocumented.

Click to view slideshow.

From February 15 to 22, 2016, this intensive workshop gathered 15 participants from different human rights organizations that use video to promote human rights and document abuses by the Moroccan authorities.

The aim of this training was to work with participants from refugee camps and from the occupied territories to improve their skills on video advocacy for human rights and to learn to train others on these skills. Some participants were already trainers and this workshop gave them the opportunity to strengthen their abilities.

Throughout the training WITNESS covered different areas in video advocacy. These areas included creating a video action plan for change, storytelling, ethical filming, and editing. Participants also discussed and provided input on the WITNESS Media Lab’s ongoing project verifying and curating eyewitness videos of abuse in Western Sahara.

The training served also as a platform to teach the future trainers to share the skills that they have learned to empower others in their communities who want to use video for social and political change. You can hear from the participants directly in the video below.

Interested in learning more about using video for change? WITNESS materials on video advocacy are available for free download here.

WITNESS Advises YouTube on Video Blurring Tool

Sarah Kerr — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 21:27:50 +0000

On February 25, YouTube announced the release of a new version of their video blurring tool. WITNESS approached YouTube about the importance of visual anonymity in 2011 and worked to pioneer an initial version of this tool which was released in 2012. WITNESS continued to advise on this subject and contributed to this new and improved version of tool. This video blurring functionality allows users to blur selected items in their videos, such as faces or other identifying information and then delete the copy of the original video hosted on the platform. This is vital for protecting the identities of activists or victims of human rights abuse who wish to speak about in situations where they may be under threat.

Since its release, the tool has received some great attention! Program director Sam Gregory published an op-ed on visual anonymity tools and human rights on WIRED. Tech blog LifeHacker featured the tool and WITNESS’ how-to video on how to optimize its use for human rights video (below).

For more on information on the importance of privacy and anonymity in human rights video, check out our new post Why YouTube’s Blurring Tool Matters and Why Other Platforms Should Have One Too by Sam Gregory.

The screencast below gives an overview of how to use the tool. Additional information and important things to think about when using blurring features in human rights-related videos are available here.

Feb. 22-26: WITNESS to Participate in Online Conversation on Video for Change and Impact

Sarah Kerr — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 19:38:32 +0000

From February 22-26, 2016, WITNESS program director Sam Gregory and engagement coordinator Sarah Kerr will participate in an online conversation hosted by New Tactics in Human Rights and EngageMedia titled Video for Change and Impact.

The conversation will run continuously throughout the week and is open to all. Learn more and join in on the action here!

Conversation description:

The use of video as a tool for creating social change is determined by the impact that video can have on individuals. Understanding the intended and unintended consequences, both positive and negative, of the use of video in advocacy efforts is critical to its implementation in successful social change.

This online conversation will evaluate how impact can be created and how individuals and organizations can measure, monitor, and evaluate the impact of their video for change efforts. Video for Change and Impact conversation leaders will also explore the stages at which impact can occur (research, training, production, filming, and screening); discuss how to design appropriate strategies; the importance of ethics in the video creation process; and the differences between the Global South and Global North and how these differences affect impact.

For more on measuring the impact of video for change work, check out the video for change impact research facilitated by the Video for Change Network.

WITNESS to Speak at Foreign Policy Magazine’s 100 Global Thinkers Event

Sarah Kerr — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 13:00:19 +0000

On Tuesday, December 1, Matisse Bustos-Hawkes, WITNESS’ Associate Director of Communications and Engagement, will take part in Foreign Policy Magazine’s 2015 100 Global Thinkers event in Washington D.C. The event is a precursor to the publication of Foreign Policy’s yearly 100 Global Thinkers issue which will hit newsstands in coming weeks.

Matisse will speak on a panel titled “The Fourth Unsolvable Problem: The Future of Activism” at 2:45 P.M. She will be joined by Jim Obergefell, activist, realtor, and IT consultant; Sonita Alizadeh, rapper and activist; Michael Faye, co-founder and executive chairman, GiveDirectly, co-founder and CEO, Segovia Technology; Robin Hammond, photographer; Andreja Pejic, supermodel and game changer; and Adejoke Tugbiyele, artist.

Follow the conversation on Twitter using the hashtags #ttrends and #globatthinkers.

You can hear more from previous Global Thinkers via Foreign Policy’s free podcasts on ITunes.

WITNESS Organizes Video Advocacy Training for HIV Advocates in Zambia

Sarah Kerr — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 15:50:11 +0000

Original title: Video for Change Training for Advocates

This post originally appeared on The International Treatment Preparedness Coalition’s (ITPC) website. ITPC trains activists to advocate for improved treatment access for HIV patients. WITNESS organized a training with ITPC on video advocacy in fall 2015 in Zambia.

WITNESS partnered with us to support a day’s video for change training, for 11 of our partner organizations in Africa. The initiative is part of a joint project of International Treatment Preparedness Coalition and AIDS & Rights Alliance for Southern Africa, funded by Robert Carr Civil Society Networks Fund.

WITNESS

WITNESS is an international non-profit organization that empowers human rights defenders to use video to fight injustice, and to transform personal stories of abuse into powerful tools that can pressure those in power or with power to act.

The training session covered the basics to help participants consider when video might be most effective to support their advocacy strategy. It focused on the elements of video for change, such as strategy and filming techniques, including how to interview for storytelling.

The Trainers

The trainer, Isabelle Mbaye, is a WITNESS consultant based in Botswana. Isabelle was supported by three experienced Video for Change practitioners, who shared their experience during the session.

Delight, Felistus and Sylvere paying close attention at video 4 change training.

Catherine Musola (featured in the top photo) is a well-known Director in Zambia, and is part of Award Winning, Vilole Images Productions.
Otim Patrick is the Video Advocacy Manager at the Refugee Law Project, in Kampala, Uganda. He heads up the Media4Social Change Program for the organization, and is an active member of the V4C Africa Network.

Elaine Maane works at STEPS South Africa, in Cape Town. STEPS makes documentaries for social change and has used video for advocacy to campaign on HIV/AIDS.

What is Video for Change or Video Advocacy?

Participants trying out the cameras.

Video advocacy is the use of video to bring about change in attitudes, behavior and policies. It is made for a specific reason. It is not simply video about a topic. “It is about the process of bringing about change in policies, law or people’s behavior and attitudes. Video advocacy is about using visual media as a strategic tool to engage people to create change. Making an advocacy video requires setting specific objectives, identifying target audiences and developing a strategic plan for production and distribution to ensure the video has impact. Remember that video is the medium, advocacy is the purpose, and change is the goal.”

Featured image via ITPC.

Madeleine Bair to Speak on “Designing Ethics in the Digital Age” at The Newseum in Washington D.C. November 19

Sarah Kerr — Wed, 11 Nov 2015 18:55:13 +0000

On Thursday, November 19 Madeleine Bair of the WITNESS Media Lab will participate in a panel titled “Designing Ethics in the Digital Age” at The Newseum in Washington D.C. The panel is co-hosted by the Online News Association and The Newseum. Madeleine will be discussing WITNESS’ newly released resource “WITNESS’ Ethical Guidelines for Using Eyewitness Videos in Human Rights Documentation and Advocacy”

The event is free, but registration is required. Register here.

Speakers

Madeleine Bair, WITNESS, @madbair / @witness_lab
Tom Kent, Associated Press, @tjrkent
Mark Memmott, NPR, @markmemmottNPR

Moderator

Gene Policinski, Newseum Institute, @Newseum

Time and Location

Thursday, November 19, 2015 from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM (EST)

Newseum – 555 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest. Documentary Theater, Concourse Level. Washington, DC 20001

WITNESS to Speak on Panel at Rutgers University on November 17th

Sarah Kerr — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 05:30:05 +0000

On Tuesday, November 17 Madeleine Bair of the WITNESS Media Lab will participate in a panel at Rutgers University titled “Radical Means: Technology and Media Activism in the New Millennium”. Madeleine will be joined by Coco Fusco, a Cuban-American artist and writer, media activist DeeDee Halleck, co-founder of Paper Tiger Television, and Harlo Holmes of Freedom of the Press Foundation and The Guardian Project. The four panelists will discuss “themes of art, activism, and media within the context of a post-9/11 post-occupy network society.”

The panel is hosted by the Visual Arts Department at Mason Gross School of the Arts and is free and open to the public.

Time:

Tuesday November 17, 2015 at 5:00 PM

Location:

Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University

Civic Square Auditorium

33 Livingston Ave, New Brunswick, New Jersey

More information is available here.

WITNESS Partner Coletivo Papo Reto Featured by BBC Brazil

Sarah Kerr — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 17:29:41 +0000

WITNESS partner Coletivo Papo Reto was featured in article published by BBC Brazil on Friday October 30. The article includes interviews with WITNESS’ Program Manager Priscila Neri and Raull Santiago, one of the founders of Coletivo Papo Reto.

Coletivo Papo Reto documents police violence in Complexo Do Alemao, a favela in the northern section of Rio that has been occupied by military police for over two years as part of “pacification” policies put in place in advance of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics in Brazil. The increased police presence in favelas has led to a surge in police violence, with large numbers of cases of extrajudicial killings, violence, and impunity documented and reported.

The full article is available here in Portuguese.

Coletivo Papo Reto was also featured in an English-language video by Fusion earlier this year.

Featured image via BBC Brazil.

WITNESS Media Lab to Present at Her Girl Friday on November 5th

Sarah Kerr — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 14:30:30 +0000

Madeleine Bair, Program Manager for the WITNESS Media Lab.

On Thursday November 5, Madeleine Bair of the WITNESS Media Lab will give a presentation on her work for Her Girl Friday, a group focused on women in journalism. The event, titled “The New Era of Civil Rights Reporting,” will also include a panel featuring journalists from Al Jazeera, The Associated Press, The New York Times Magazine, and USA Today.

The event is free and open to the public. All genders are encouraged to attend.

Location:

ThoughtWorks NYC

99 Madison Ave (Between 29th & 30th Street) Floor 15

New York, NY 10016

Questions? Email Jared: JHatch [at] ThoughtWorks [dot] com

Facebook Event

WITNESS To Speak on Panel at The Magnum Foundation’s Photography, Expanded Symposium

Sarah Kerr — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 20:26:57 +0000

On Sunday November 1st, WITNESS Program Coordinator Morgan Hargrave will speak on a panel titled “In the Age of Data” as part of The Magnum Foundation’s Photography, Expanded Symposium in New York City. In his work at WITNESS Morgan focuses on how tech tools and policies can be improved to support activists who are using video for human rights (more here). Morgan will be joined by Marek Tuszynski, creative director of Tactical Tech, Katy Scoggin, cinematographer & co-producer of CITIZENFOUR, and Ben Rubin, the co-founder of The Office of Creative Research. The panel will start at 11:45 AM.

The Photography, Expanded symposium is free and open to the public. The event will begin around 9am and continue until late afternoon. Other panels include discussions on creating compelling narratives and presentations on projects created by emerging media artists through Magnum fellowship programs.

The symposium is part of the Magnum Foundation Photography, Expanded series which is designed “to inspire documentary photographers to expand their storytelling beyond the still image. Through intensive workshops and panel discussions, photographers learn about emerging digital tools and methods to engage audiences across platforms and mobilize communities around social justice issues.”

Last year, WITNESS’ Madeleine Bair presented on her work on The Human Rights Channel at a Photography, Expanded event titled “Photography, Expanded: Collaborative Images – New Models of Authorship & Aggregation” (full description here). The video from the panel is available below.

https://youtu.be/Jv2f4eOzi_c&w=700&h=394

Featured image is a screenshot from an eyewitness video of French police using tear gas to disperse a protest in the fall of 2014.