Founded
in 1992 by musician and activist Peter Gabriel, WITNESS is a nonprofit
organization that empowers people to use video and online technologies
to transform personal stories of human rights abuse into powerful tools
for justice.
WITNESS works with human rights groups through its
Core Partnerships, intensive two- to three-year collaborations that
focus on specific issues, and through its Seeding Video Advocacy
program, which trains organizations to harness the power of video
technology. Most recently, WITNESS launched the Hub, the first global
online platform dedicated to human rights media and action. The Hub
allows concerned citizens, activists, journalists, researchers, and
advocates worldwide to upload human rights related media, create and
join communities, and organize a response.
Throughout its
history, WITNESS has consistently and creatively used technology in
order to promote engagement and create impact. More importantly,
WITNESS goes beyond providing technology by training likeminded groups
to use video to turn testimony and images into campaigns that truly
make a difference.
WITNESS videos have been used to promote
grassroots education, corroborate allegations of human rights
violations, catalyze new human rights advocacy, and deter further
abuse. “Shoot on Sight,” a video focusing on the ongoing Burmese
military campaign against internally displaced persons, was featured on
YouTube as an Editor’s Pick and was viewed more than 370,000 times
during the crucial days of the Burma demonstrations in October 2007. In
November 2007, The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
presented the first ever Emmy Humanitarian Award to WITNESS. In the
past year, WITNESS videos have been screened at the US Congress and the
UN and have been used in coverage by leading media outlets such as the
BBC.
Omidyar Network’s support of WITNESS reflects our
commitment to organizations that are innovative and forward-thinking
and have the potential to scale for maximum impact. As a lead funder
of WITNESS for over four years, Omidyar Network continues to support
its work, which ensures that people around the world not only have a
voice, but a platform for mobilizing a response and taking action
against wrongs.
Get Involved in one of WITNESS´s human rights campaigns today.
Join the Hub, WITNESS´s online global community for human rights media and action.