Witness Inc

SEE SCHEDULE O

TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDINGTHE CORNERSTONE OF WITNESS' PROGRAM MODEL IS BUILDING CAPACITY WITH VULNERABLE AND MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES USING VIDEO AND TECHNOLOGY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS. ITS PRIORITY CROSS-CUTTING THEMES ADDRESS THE WORLD'S MOST COMPLEX AND URGENT CHALLENGES AND FOCUS ON THE MOST VULNERABLE GROUPS: WAR CRIMES; LAND DEFENSE; AND STATE VIOLENCE. IT ALSO ENGAGES IN GLOBAL FIELD BUILDING WORK ON RELATED ISSUES THAT FALL OUTSIDE OF THESE THEMES, BUT ARE CRITICAL TO PROTECTING AND DEFENDING HUMAN RIGHTS, SUCH AS: DOCUMENTING ELECTION VIOLENCE, FILMING PROTESTS, CLIMATE JUSTICE, GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE, HATE SPEECH, AND SAFETY AND SECURITY. (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O)WITNESS TRAININGS HELP FILL CRITICAL GAPS IN THE USE OF VIDEO FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, ENSURING THAT THE VIDEOS PEOPLE OFTEN GO TO GREAT LENGTHS TO CAPTURE CAN BE TRUSTED AND VERIFIED; THAT ACTIVISTS CAN STAY SAFE AND MANAGE RISK; THAT EVIDENTIARY VIDEOS CAN BE FOUND AMIDST MASS VOLUME; THAT MOVEMENTS AND GROUPS CAN USE VISUAL STORYTELLING IN STRATEGIC AND IMPACTFUL WAYS; AND THAT NEW AND EXISTING TECHNOLOGIES CAN ENABLE GREATER CITIZEN PARTICIPATION. A GLOBAL ORGANIZATION, WITNESS IS ROOTED IN FIVE REGIONS GLOBALLY (ASIA & THE PACIFIC, LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN, MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA, SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, AND THE UNITED STATES). EACH YEAR, PROGRAM STAFF PROVIDE A SERIES OF BOTH IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL TRAININGS TO COMMUNITIES, HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS, ACTIVISTS, JOURNALISTS, AND LAWYERS AROUND THE WORLD, SHARING CONCRETE RESOURCES, GUIDANCE, AND TOOLS AROUND THE SAFE, ETHICAL, AND EFFECTIVE USE OF VIDEO AND TECHNOLOGY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS. BETWEEN JULY 2020 AND JUNE 2021, WITNESS TRAINED MORE THAN 1,900 INDIVIDUALS REPRESENTING AFFECTED COMMUNITIES IN MORE THAN 25 COUNTRIES, INCLUDING BRAZIL, COLOMBIA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, ECUADOR, MALAYSIA, MEXICO, MYANMAR, PERU, PHILIPPINES, NIGERIA, SOUTH AFRICA, SUDAN, YEMEN, AND THE UNITED STATES. TRAININGS COVERED A RANGE OF HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES AND ADDRESSED KEY SKILL SET AREAS, INCLUDING VIDEO AS EVIDENCE, VIDEO ADVOCACY, ARCHIVING, ETHICS, AND SECURITY.

RESOURCE CREATION AND DISTRIBUTIONWITNESS' ONLINE LIBRARY IS HOME TO OVER 180 TRAINING RESOURCES IN MORE THAN 27 LANGUAGES. THE LIBRARY ENABLES ANYONE, ANYWHERE TO ACCESS, DOWNLOAD, AND ADAPT A RANGE OF OPEN SOURCE TIPS AND GUIDANCE ON HOW TO USE VIDEO MORE SAFELY AND EFFECTIVELY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS. YEAR AFTER YEAR, WITNESS HAS SEEN AN INCREASE IN THE OVERALL ENGAGEMENT WITH THESE RESOURCES, DEMONSTRATING APPETITE AND NEED FOR ITS MATERIALS ACROSS ISSUE AREAS, REGIONS, AND LANGUAGES. (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O)THE ORGANIZATION RECOGNIZES THE STRATEGIC POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA AS A TOOL TO WIDELY DISTRIBUTE INFORMATION, AS WELL AS THE FACT THAT ACTIVISTS AND VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES WORLDWIDE ARE TURNING TO THESE PLATFORMS TO COMMUNICATE, ADVOCATE, AND PARTICIPATE IN SOCIETY. WITNESS' GOAL IS THAT WHETHER A MEDIA ACTIVIST IN GUATEMALA EN ROUTE TO FILM A POLITICAL PROTEST, A SURVIVOR OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN INDIA HOPING TO BRING VISIBILITY TO THE ISSUE AND ACHIEVE ACCOUNTABILITY; OR A MEMBER OF A PERSECUTED POPULATION IN MYANMAR TRYING TO PRESERVE FOOTAGE OF GENOCIDE, ANYONE CAN COME INTO CONTACT WITH WITNESS' GUIDANCE AT THE CRITICAL MOMENT WHEN THEY NEED IT MOST.GLOBAL SOCIAL MEDIA EFFORTS ARE LED BY A TEAM OF LOCALLY-BASED COMMUNICATIONS EXPERTS WHO ENABLE WITNESS TO BE MORE TIMELY, RESPONSIVE, AND PROACTIVE, PUSHING OUT RESOURCES WHEN PEOPLE NEED THEM MOST. THEY ARE ALSO WELL-PLACED TO ANTICIPATE EMERGING THREATS (E.G. THE ONLINE TARGETING OF ACTIVISTS), AND PLAN EFFECTIVE, LOCALLY-GROUNDED RESPONSES. BY KEEPING A PULSE ON WHAT HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT, CONFUSED ABOUT, CONCERNED ABOUT, OR EXCITED ABOUT GLOBALLY, WITNESS IS ABLE TO TAILOR OUTREACH AND CATAPULT KNOWLEDGE INTO KEY SPACES, GREATLY INCREASING REACH AND IMPACT. THE GOAL OF THIS GLOBAL SOCIAL MEDIA WORK IS TO ACHIEVE "MEANINGFUL ENGAGEMENT" WITH ONLINE AUDIENCES; THE HOPE IS THAT THOSE WHO ENCOUNTER OUR RESOURCES WILL SHARE THE KNOWLEDGE ON AND ALSO FUNCTION AS A RESOURCE WITHIN THEIR OWN COMMUNITY.BETWEEN JULY 2020 AND JUNE 2021, WITNESS CREATED, ADAPTED, TAILORED, AND DISSEMINATED CRITICAL RESOURCES ON TOPICS SUCH AS: DOCUMENTING DURING INTERNET SHUTDOWNS; THE RIGHT TO RECORD; STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE DEFENSE OF LAND AND TERRITORY; VISUAL STORYTELLING FOR IMMIGRATION JUSTICE; FORCED EVICTIONS AND FORCED DISPLACEMENT; ETHICAL INTERVIEWING; FILMING HATE; DOCUMENTATION APPS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS; AND MORE. AS A RESULT, WITNESS CULTIVATED OVER ONE MILLION MEANINGFUL ONLINE ENGAGEMENTS WITH ITS GUIDANCE AND RESOURCES; TIP SHEETS, VIDEOS, AND CURRICULA WERE DOWNLOADED MORE THAN 189,000 TIMES. THE TEAM EXPERIMENTED WITH CREATIVE DISSEMINATION METHODS (E.G. MEME-BASED GUIDANCE AND PODCASTS), PENETRATING HARD-TO-REACH SPACES AND ENSURING THAT MANY MORE PEOPLE USING VIDEO FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ARE AWARE OF, AND ABLE TO ACCESS, WITNESS' GUIDANCE.

TECHNOLOGY THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIESBUILDING ON A RICH HISTORY OF ANTICIPATING THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES POSED BY EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES, WITNESS REMAINS LASER-FOCUSED ON ENSURING THAT INNOVATION OPERATES IN SERVICE OF A HEALTHY AND INFORMED SOCIETY, WHILE SERVING AND PROTECTING THE MOST MARGINALIZED. IT ENGAGES ACTORS ACROSS THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND TECHNOLOGY ECOSYSTEM, BRINGING GRASSROOTS PERSPECTIVES TO GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES PUSHING THEM TO BE MORE ACCOUNTABLE AND SCALING IMPACT IN THE PROCESS. WITNESS UTILIZES AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE REAL AND UNPRECEDENTED THREATS POSED BY EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO DEVELOP THREAT MODELS, ADVOCATE TO COMPANIES ON RIGHTS-RESPECTING APPROACHES, AND COLLABORATE ON APPLIED RESEARCH. (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O)THE ORGANIZATION IS A THOUGHT LEADER AND CROSS-SECTOR CONVENER, ADDRESSING THE THREATS OF MEDIA MANIPULATION, SURVEILLANCE, AND SECURITY FACING VULNERABLE GROUPS AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT AT LARGE.WITNESS' SYSTEMS-LEVEL WORK BRINGS A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE ROOTED IN THE ACTUAL EXPERIENCES OF VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES RATHER THAN IN ABSTRACT IDEAS. ALL WORK DRAWS ON LOCAL FEEDBACK AND IS INFORMED BY REAL-WORLD EXAMPLES OF HOW THESE TOOLS AND PLATFORMS ARE BEING DEPLOYED BY BOTH MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES, AS WELL AS BY BAD ACTORS TO SPREAD MISINFORMATION, UNDERMINE TRUST, TARGET ACTIVISTS, AND PUT COMMUNITIES AT INCREASED RISK. WITNESS' THEORY OF CHANGE IS ROOTED IN LIVED EXPERIENCES, HARM REDUCTION, AND SYSTEMIC CHANGE. IN THE FACE OF APOCALYPTIC NARRATIVES SURROUNDING BOTH EXISTING FORMS OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND NEW EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES SUCH AS AI, IT IS ALSO COMMITTED TO UPHOLDING THE POSITIVE USES OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES, WHICH ENABLE CIVIC PARTICIPATION, MOBILIZATION, AND ACCOUNTABILITY.THIS YEAR, BUILDING ON A SERIES OF DEEPFAKE PREPAREDNESS MEETINGS HELD ACROSS THE GLOBAL SOUTH, WITNESS CONTINUED TO ENSURE THAT APPROACHES TO DEEPFAKES ARE DRIVEN BY AN UNDERSTANDING OF REAL-WORLD THREATS, AND CENTER THE INPUT OF AFFECTED COMMUNITIES GLOBALLY. IN A WORLD AWASH WITH DECEPTIVELY EDITED MEDIA, ONE EMERGING SOLUTION IS TO CREATE TOOLS THAT HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHERE A PHOTO OR VIDEO CAME FROM, AND HOW IT HAS BEEN MANIPULATED. WITNESS HAS ESTABLISHED ITSELF AS A LEADING VOICE AROUND AUTHENTICITY INFRASTRUCTURE OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, ENSURING THAT THIS PUBLIC DISCUSSION AND TECHNICAL WORK INCORPORATES A HUMAN RIGHTS LENS, WORKS TO DISPEL MIS- AND DISINFORMATION, AND REBUILDS ERODED PUBLIC TRUST. IT IS INFLUENCING CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY SPECIFICATIONS TO ENSURE THAT EMERGING AUTHENTICITY TOOLS ARE GROUNDED IN HUMAN RIGHTS, FREE EXPRESSION, AND CIVIC JOURNALISM VALUES AND CONCERNS. WITNESS IS ALSO A CONSISTENT AND STRONG MEDIA VOICE GLOBALLY, ADVOCATING FOR KEY ISSUES BY BEING QUOTED, REFERENCED IN, OR AUTHORING OP-EDS IN OUTLETS SUCH AS THE NEW YORK TIMES, MIT TECH REVIEW, THE NEW YORKER, WIRED, CNET, BOSTON GLOBE, THE ECONOMIST, AJ STREAM, VICE, AND THE WASHINGTON POST.

LEARNING AND SHARINGA PRIMARY MECHANISM BY WHICH WITNESS HELPS BUILD THE FABRIC OF ECOSYSTEMS IS THROUGH THE UNIQUE ABILITY TO LEARN AND SHARE, ENSURING THAT GUIDANCE AND TOOLS CAN BE ADAPTED TO, AND SHARED WITH, VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES FACING SIMILAR ISSUES AROUND THE WORLD. AS PATTERNS OF INJUSTICE AND MARGINALIZATION REPEAT THEMSELVES ACROSS BORDERS AND GEOGRAPHIES, SO TOO MUST THE STRATEGIES AND TACTICS FOR HOW VIDEO AND TECHNOLOGY CAN HELP REALIZE OPPORTUNITIES AND EXPOSE THESE ABUSES. A ROHINGYA VILLAGER TRYING TO ARCHIVE AND PRESERVE THE MASS VOLUME OF WAR CRIMES FOOTAGE CAPTURED ON THEIR MOBILE PHONE VIA WHATSAPP IN MYANMAR CAN LEARN FROM A CIVIC JOURNALIST IN SYRIA WHO HAS ALREADY THOUGHT THROUGH THESE CHALLENGES AND WORKFLOWS IN A WAR CRIMES CONTEXT; JUST AS A COMMUNITY LEADER TRYING TO PREVENT THE ILLEGAL DEFORESTATION OF THEIR LAND IN MALAYSIA CAN LEARN FROM INDIGENOUS LEADERS USING VIDEO EVIDENCE TO END THE ILLEGAL INVASION OF THEIR ANCESTRAL LANDS IN THE AMAZON. BETWEEN JULY 2020 AND JUNE 2021, WITNESS ADAPTED AND DEPLOYED GUIDANCE RELATED TO: INTERNET SHUTDOWNS; STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS FOR LAND DEFENSE; EVIDENTIARY DATABASES OF STATE VIOLENCE DOCUMENTATION; AND THE ROLE OF MOBILE DOCUMENTATION IN BRINGING JUSTICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR VICTIMS OF INTERNATIONAL CRIMES. THE INTERNET SHUTDOWNS GUIDANCE, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS BEEN TRANSLATED INTO EIGHT LANGUAGES, ADAPTED INTO NUMEROUS FORMATS, AND SHARED WITH COMMUNITIES FACING SIMILAR CHALLENGES GLOBALLY. THESE TIPS WERE INTEGRATED INTO A RANGE OF GUIDES AND TOOLKITS BY PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS INTERNEWS, ACCESS NOW, AND AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL.IN REGIONS LIKE LATIN AMERICA, FOR EXAMPLE, WHERE WITNESS HAS BEEN DELIBERATELY BUILDING AND CULTIVATING ACTIVIST NETWORKS FOR LONGER PERIODS OF TIME, THERE IS CONCRETE EVIDENCE OF HOW GUIDANCE IS BEING APPROPRIATED, ADAPTED, AND SHARED AND AT TIMES EVEN "MAINSTREAMED" BY KEY PARTNERS. FOR EXAMPLE, THE LATIN AMERICA TEAM SUPPORTED A COLLECTIVE IN CHILE TO COLLECT EVIDENCE OF STATE ACTORS REPRESSING PROTESTS AND UPRISINGS OVER. DRAWING UPON WITNESS GUIDANCE, AND TO DEMONSTRATE THE ONGOING AND SYSTEMIC USE OF EXCESSIVE FORCE TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH PANDEMIC RESTRICTIONS, THE COLLECTIVE IS CREATING THEIR OWN DATABASE FOR AUDIOVISUAL HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS. AS UPRISINGS CONTINUE, AN ORGANIZED DATABASE WILL HELP THIS GROUP AND OTHER COLLECTIVES CATALOG AND SHARE ABUSES WITH LAWYERS, ORGANIZERS, ACTIVISTS, AND THE PUBLIC.