Media Archive
The video collection comprises over 4,000 hours of video from human rights defenders and NGOs around the world with whom we have partnered. Footage includes witness and victim testimonies, abuses caught on tape, interviews with human rights defenders, evidentiary submissions, hidden camera investigations, and more; and covers a broad range of issues, such as forced displacement in Burma, genocide in Guatemala, violence against women in Zimbabwe, and torture and disappearances in Chechnya. More »
How We Archive
When partners and producers submit video footage to the Archive, it must go through a process to ensure that the content is sufficiently documented and traceable to its source, maintained in a format that allows for long-term usability, protected from alteration, and locatable within the archives. Read more about how we do this.
Also of interest:
- Partnership with the University of Texas: For long-term preservation
- Archiving Tools: Used to manage our collection
How to Access the Archive
Access is a core goal and value of the Media Archive. We strive to provide open yet responsible access to the collection, serving as a model for how archives can make human rights media available to users in ways that respect the rights of creators and subjects, and protect the authenticity and integrity of the materials. Our online searchable database will be available soon.
If you are interested in accessing and licensing footage, please click here for details.
January 27, 2012 - By Guest Blogger
By Tessa Fallon
The web has given human rights organizations unprecedented access to global audiences. However a website will last only as long as funds are available for maintenance and hosting....
September 26, 2011 - By Grace Lile
Inside the Media Archive is an ongoing, occasional behind-the-scenes look at the practices, methodologies, tools, and resources the WITNESS Media Archive has developed and implemented to manage our...
August 31, 2011 - By Raja Althaibani
Raja has just joined WITNESS on a one-year assignment as our Middle East and North Africa Program Associate. She works to ensure that video is used effectively to take advantage of the critical...
