MONTREAL/July 15, 2008—
WITNESS, the human rights organization co-founded by musician and activist Peter Gabriel, is proud to return to Montreal July 20-August 2, 2008 for the 2nd Annual Video Advocacy Institute (VAI), a unique and innovative program that will train 30 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 Program and Documentary Centre, where WITNESS has found a true ally and unparalleled support for the its mission to empower people with technical and strategic training in the use of video to create change. The VAI will provide an immersive introduction in video advocacy – filming, editing, and strategic online and offline 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: Shaka Ceesay from Gambia who is campaigning to end the practice of female genital mutilation; Parimala Devi Narayanasamy who is working on improving labor conditions for migrant domestic workers in Malaysia; and Debora Diniz Rodrigues who wants to bring attention to the vulnerability of people living in psychiatric prisons in Brazil.
Last year’s VAI participants have since produced videos and launched campaigns about high levels of rape in Liberian schools, which was shown on World Human Rights Day and on national TV, and has helped generate a national debate on the issue in Liberia; the abuses suffered by sex workers in Cambodia, a version of which will be screened at the upcoming international AIDS conference in Mexico City; violence against women in Peru, which was screened to authorities and secured approval for a regional plan to stop violence against women; and many other human rights issues.
For more than 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. Our collaborative campaigns have contributed to significant victories: for instance: the acquittal of David Meza, who was tortured to confess to the murder of his cousin Neyra and spent 3 years in prison awaiting a verdict in Mexico; the arrest of militia leader, Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, namely recruiting and using child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and funding and reparations for landmine victims in Senegal.
Contacts:
Su Patel/ WITNESS
Tel: 718.783.2000 ext. 316
Email: suvasini@witness.org
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Source :
Tanya Churchmuch
Senior Media Relations Advisor
Concordia University
