We Witness: A Panel on Digital Video, Social Media, and Political Protest
Recent civil disturbances and political protests from China and the Middle East to New York City and university campuses have been accompanied by a growing body of video and photography. Activists and observers can now capture events with inexpensive digital cameras and cellphones and distribute the footage through social media sites such as YouTube, Vimeo, Ustream, and Facebook. How have these changes affected public perceptions and the way officials and police and handle such events? What new standards are necessary for the use of video as legal evidence? How can emerging technologies be enhanced and participants trained to make these tools more effective?
The CITRIS Data and Democracy Initiative will present a panel of leading video activists, filmmakers, and technology developers to highlight recent innovations in the field and discuss the implications for human rights investigations, advocacy campaigns, and social justice more broadly.
PANELISTS:
Sam Gregory, Program Director, WITNESS. WITNESS uses video to open the eyes of the world to human rights violations. WITNESS empowers people to transform personal stories of abuse into powerful tools for justice, promoting public engagement and policy change.
Adam Stofsky, Executive Director, New Media Advocacy Project. NMAP combines legal expertise with cutting edge communication tools to strengthen human rights and social justice work.
Rich Jones, CEO, OpenWatch. OpenWatch is a participatory citizen media project which uses mobile technology to enable public monitoring of authority figures. Their tool, PoliceTape, was released by the ACLU-New Jersey in summer 2012.
Tomoko Hosaka, News & Politics Manager, Ustream. Ustream's live streaming platform aims to bring the world together by immersing viewers in live broadcasts that create riveting experiences, interactive communities, and lasting connections.
Ken Goldberg, Faculty Director, Data and Democracy Initiative, The Rashomon Project. DDI builds tools to foster public engagement for the people of California and around the world.
Presented by the CITRIS Data and Democracy Initiative. Co-sponsored by the Human Rights Center and Henderson Center for Social Justice at Berkeley Law, the Berkeley Center for New Media, Townsend Center for the Humanities, Graduate School of Journalism, Department of Film and Media Studies, Center for Digital Storytelling, Ustream, Dissent Magazine, & #WeTheData
RSVP on the Facebook Event page.
Use #WeWitness on Twitter for questions during panel.
Directions to CITRIS @ Berkeley on the CITRIS Visitors page.