The Video Action Plan

The WITNESS Video Action Plan (VAP) is a questionnaire designed to assist our partners in developing a plan to integrate video into their human rights advocacy. We provide two versions here, one formatted for use by our partners and another version for more general usage.

Download the Video Action Plan:
 VAP for WITNESS Partners 
 VAP for Non-Partners

Effective Strategies for Video Advocacy

The key to an effective video advocacy strategy is to have a clear sense of your goals and audience and to choose the most appropriate approach for your needs. Each of the video strategies outlined below has its benefits and its drawbacks. For instance, some strategies reach wide audiences and help raise general awareness about a particular issue, but may not reach key decision-makers. Other strategies will target policymakers or judges but require additional efforts to reach a broader public. 

Read and Use Effective Strategies in Video Advocacy.

Video for Change Book

Video for Change: A Guide for Advocacy and Activism, edited and written by WITNESS staff and leading video activists, was published by Pluto Press (UK) in October 2005.  Featuring inspiring stories from a range of countries and contexts, Video for Change explains how to plan, film, edit and distribute your advocacy videos.  It provides informed analysis, a global range of examples, clear how-to guidance on strategy, techniques and ethics, and hands-on exercises appropriate for trainings and clases.  Additional chapters outline issues surrounding the use of video as evidence, as well as major safety and security concerns confronting video advocates.  The book is now available for free download in English, French, Russian and Spanish. 

Video for Change Video

The Video for Change video provides an overview for human rights advocates on how to effectively use video for advocacy. It is available in English, French and Spanish.

Click here to view "Video for Change" in English.

Haz cliq aquí­ para mirar "El Cambio Ví­a el Video."

Cliquez ici por voir "Faire la Différence par la Vidéo."

WITNESS Guide to Video Advocacy

This toolkit aims to help individuals use video safely and effectively in human
rights and advocacy work. The videos below are designed for human rights activists and advocates, filmmakers, journalists and citizen journalists around the world.

Part 1: Before Filming

Part 2a: Filming
Part 2b: Filming

Part 3: After Filming