New Orleans, LA, United States

Organised by WITNESS, this workshop on video advocacy incorporates the tools of modern communication - especially video and the web - into human rights campaigns for change.

In the workshop, WITNESS staff will discuss strategies for developing advocacy plans built around visual evidence, testimony and stories, and for using video to target domestic and international institutions including the state and national government, United Nations and regional commissions, other governmental decision-makers, the media, an internet-based global public and others.

The focus will be on challenging participants to move beyond traditional perceptions of video as a specialised skill outside of the needs or experience of human rights workers and social justice activists or as solely a promotional or fundraising tool. The workshop will include presentations around the WITNESS methodology and case studies of WITNESS partners' work, as well as opportunities for participants to share their own ideas and experiences with effective video use. Interactive and small group exercises will help participants develop ideas for using video in their human rights work.

The objective will be for all participants to leave with an expanded sense of the possibility for using video in their advocacy in different venues, and concrete ideas specific to their issues and work area. Participants will also learn basic skills in camera, and how to shoot short sequences. WITNESS does not provide cameras for this training, and expects participants to bring their own.