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WITNESS RECEIVES TRIBECA DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION AWARD FOR REVOLUTIONARY USE OF VIDEO THAT BROUGHT A WARLORD TO JUSTICE

NEW YORK–April 27, 2012– During the Tribeca Film Festival, WITNESS has been honored with the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Awards for its two-decade long commitment of using video for justice.

The third annual 2012 Tribeca Disruptive Innovations Awards recognizes people across many fields for their innovative ways of looking at and dramatically changing the world we live in. WITNESS is being recognized for its revolutionary role in using video to bring to trial a Congolese warlord, Thomas Lubanga, who was convicted in a landmark decision by the International Criminal Court on March 14, 2012 for recruiting and using children in war. To find out more about WITNESS’ video used in Thomas Lubanga’s trial, go to: http://www.witness.org/campaigns/all-campaigns/duty-protect-child-soldiers-drc

Co-founded in 1992 by human rights advocate and musician Peter Gabriel, WITNESS was created in the aftermath of the Rodney King incident, in which a bystander recorded police brutality that ultimately sparked a national debate about racism in America. Its founding vision sought to amplify grassroots voices through video and transform visual stories into powerful agents of change.

Today—20 years later—WITNESS has partnered with more than 300 human rights groups in over 80 countries, trained over 3,000 human rights defenders and citizen activists, and supported the inclusion of video in over 100 campaigns, which aims to change laws, policies and practices.

WITNESS is skilled in the art of telling stories strategically and in training activists to film for change. Today, WITNESS is taking lead to ensure the millions turning to video to document and change their world can do so safely and effectively, training citizen-witnesses to tell persuasive stories and document for evidence.

WITNESS latest initiative “Cameras Everywhere” focuses on providing leadership for the countless citizens who wish to harness the power of visual storytelling to fight injustice, as seen with the Arab Spring and now Syria. To find out more about WITNESS’ “Cameras Everywhere” Initiative, go to: http:// www.witness.org/cameras-everywhere

“We are at a transformative moment in history where any citizen with a camera in his or her hands can be a human rights defender,” says Yvette Alberdingk Thijm, Executive Director of WITNESS. “But today’s citizen witnesses need the tools and skills to tell stories that can hold people accountable and change the hearts and minds of those in power.”

In ground-breaking innovative work, WITNESS is partnering with technology developers to create a set of mobile applications, known as SecureSmartCam, to support video as an effective tool for change. For example, our first prize-winning app¸ ObscuraCam, protects the identity of those being filmed by blurring faces and protects those filming by removing data in the image that will identify them. To find out more about our SecureSmartCam apps go to: http://www.witness.org/cameras-everywhere/witness-labs

From 2012 Tribeca Film Festival Livestream: