MONTREAL/July 9, 2007—
WITNESS, the human rights organization founded by musician and activist Peter Gabriel, is proud to announce the launch of the Video Advocacy Institute (VAI), a unique and innovative program that will train global human rights defenders to use video as a tool for advocacy and social change.
The VAI will be held in association with Concordia University’s Communication Studies and Documentary Center from July 15-27 in Montreal, Quebec. The training will provide an immersive introduction in video advocacy – filming, editing, and strategic distribution - for a group of 30 human rights advocates from around the globe working on some of the most challenging issues facing our world. Participants include: Musa Ngubane from South Africa is one of a few activists working to promote Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Inter-sexual (LGBTI) rights throughout the African continent; Hseng Noung’s campaign focuses on the Burmese regime’s use of rape as a weapon of war; István Gábor Takács is fighting to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS among drug users in Hungary; Flavia Cherry campaigns in St. Lucia on a variety of women’s rights issues including domestic violence and the protection of sex workers; and Raha Jorjani’s work is focused on the detention and deportation of immigrants in Arizona.
Over the last 15 years, WITNESS has worked with thousands of human rights defenders in over 70 countries providing video equipment, training and support so that human rights abuses are brought to the attention of key decision makers, concerned citizens and the media. WITNESS campaigns have produced measurable impacts. For instance, the persecution of rural villagers by Burma’s military government was placed on the UN Security Council’s agenda for the first time, in part due to focused attention from Burma Issues who have produced more than five videos on the topic with WITNESS. And after coordinated, international pressure on the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, including strategic distribution of a video documenting abuses, the International Criminal Court arrested a key militia leader there on charges related to the use and recruitment of child soldiers.
In the fall 2007, WITNESS will launch The Hub, a global online destination where concerned citizens, activists, journalists, researchers, and advocates worldwide will be able to upload human rights related media from handheld devices or personal computers, and create or and join communities and calls to action around the abuses they witness. The site will embrace the populist shift toward user-generated content – all in the service of human rights advocacy. Read more about this project and other initiatives at www.witness.org.
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Source :
Tanya Churchmuch
Senior Media Relations Advisor
Concordia University
