Witness is a non-profit organization founded in 1992 by singer/songwriter Peter Gabriel. While travelling around the world in 1988 as part of Amnesty International’s Human Rights Now tour, Gabriel was struck by the tales of suffering and abuse that he heard along the way. This experience, and the brutal police beating of Rodney King in 1991, which filmed by a bystander and then aired worldwide, eventually led him to found Witness, which uses video and other media to raise public awareness about human rights abuses. A network of partners at the regional and national levels enables the group to work with human rights groups and activists around the world to help survivors share their stories to create powerful video messages that call for change and justice. In its early stages, Witness primarily focused on shipping cameras and video equipment to human rights groups. The organization’s main goal was to allow videos of abuse to circulate in order to raise awareness and expose the violations taking place. After a short time, Witness decided that it had to do more. Executive Director Yvette Alberdingk Thijm explains that the organization wanted to develop long term partnerships with other groups in order to influence and reshape existing government policies and practices. In light of this, Witness changed its approach. The organization decided to send technical teams to areas of conflict. This way, local groups would have the direct support they needed to make effective and powerful videos. Alberdingk Thijm says that Witness is dedicated to listening to local voices, that people on the ground have the answers to their problems, and that they just sometimes need help to get there. Sam Gregory, Program Director at Witness, says that people who have fled from areas of conflict know what the problems are, and that they can go back to the communities and document what is happening. Witness immerses itself with the local people and teaches them how to make the videos safely and effectively. As a non-profit organization, Witness must use its resources wisely and be aware of changes in technology and the economy. In response to the quick pace of development in the areas of video and media technology, the organization underwent a comprehensive review and launched a new strategic vision. Gregory says the organization decided to focus on three key areas. First, Witness updated its campaign model to reflect a new vision to use a greater range of media technology like mobile phones and real time video. It also decided to work with other groups using technology to make advocacy videos in order to be more effective as a whole. Witness then changed its training style to bring it online and make it available to the growing number of people around the globe who were also using video for change. Gregory says the organization started to really focus on sharing the experiences of groups that had learned something great. If there was a new way to use a cell phone to document a certain type of abuse, Witness shared the information on blogs and websites to help other people dealing with the same kind of problems. The third area that Witness focused on was the rebuilding of a multimedia sharing site called the Hub. Bryan Nunez, Technology Manager for Witness, says that The Hub “is a sort of YouTube for human rights”. Witness recognized the powerful role the Hub was playing as well as the tremendous potential it had to help more advocates. Since 2007, The Hub’s videos have been viewed over 8.5 million people. However, The Hub was in place before YouTube was available. To make it more effective, Witness had to find innovative ways to redesign the site. Nunez says that the Hub’s entire infrastructure had to be rebuilt from scratch using current tools. He also noted that Witness had to make sure that the site provided a secure and safe platform for people to use. Recently, Witness decided to change its online strategy. The organization recognized that there are now countless tools available that people can use in support of human rights. Witness provides guidance in the form of online policies and practices to promote human rights, especially regarding the safety of people who stand up against abuse and who are actually filmed. Witness believes in the importance of sharing best practices and examples of videos made with proper training. The organization uses video action plans to help groups develop their visual messages and decide when and where to use them. Witness also provides people making advocacy videos with productions skills. Gregory says this includes intensive two-week training sessions that consider how and when to film, how to get a good interview, how to conceal someone’s identity and how to plan a production timeline that allows for editing should the situation on the ground changes. Witness stays current and relevant by looking at social trends and their implications. In the United States, 75 million baby boomers and older generation adults require increasing support. Elder abuse, a relatively hidden problem, threatens to become a greater issue as the population ages. In an effort to protect elders from physical, mental, and financial abuse, Witness joined forces with the National Coalition on Aging. Videos from advocates were used to promote the rights of elders and expose cases of abuse. This campaign ultimately helped to pass the Elder Justice Act in March 2010, the first law protecting elders from abuse in the United States.
1. Who acted as a change agent to help create Witness? How did that person help Witness to develop and change?
2. Select two forces for change as shown in Exhibit 14-1. Describe how Witness has responded to these forces in order to stay current and relevant.
3. Action research consists of five steps. Describe how Witness uses action research as a change process. How does this process help the groups that Witness works with?
4. Describe one innovation at Witness. How did it help the organization to stay current and relevant?