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.
May 9, 2013 - By Yvonne Ng
From YouTube to FTP, and Dropbox to Google Drive, online services have very different ways of transferring files. Which ones are safest for your videos?
February 27, 2013 - By Grace Lile
‘Personal digital archiving’ is a movement that helps individuals take control of their digital files. A WITNESS Archivist shares her insights from a national conference, outlining gaps and solutions...
February 15, 2013 - By Yvonne Ng
“Centuries of Invaluable Manuscripts Lost to Extremists” could have been the headline. But it wasn’t, because Timbuktu archivists made plans to preserve them. Keeping digital archives can be easier,...
