Chris Michael's blog

Is water a human right?

By: Chris Michael, Posted: Dec 24 08

Food & health & development, Sustainable development, Water

udhr60, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, water

"There is enough water for human need, but not for human greed." - Mahatma Gandhi

Open Call for Hub Interns & Volunteers

By: Chris Michael, Posted: Dec 23 08

WITNESS uses video and online technologies to open the eyes of the world to human rights violations. We empower people to transform personal stories of abuse into powerful tools for justice, promoting public engagement and policy change.

Report-Back: What image opened your eyes to human rights?

By: Chris Michael, Posted: Dec 23 08

Global

udhr60

UDHR60 Spotlight: Freedom of Speech in Sri Lanka & Lack Thereof

By: Chris Michael, Posted: Dec 16 08

Sri Lanka

Freedom of opinion & expression, Independence of the judiciary, Torture/ill treatment

abuse, action, Detention, expression, free speech, freedom, J.S. Tissainayagam, journalist, sri lanka, torture

What image opened your eyes to human rights? This is a question that we posed here on the Hub, online (YouTube and Facebook, primarily) and with our friends and video for change network in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10.

Coming from BoingBoing? Welcome...

By: Chris Michael, Posted: Dec 12 08

Hello and welcome to the Hub. We want to send a huge thanks to Xeni Jardin and team at BoingBoing for their work to highlight WITNESS and the power of video to advance human rights on BoingBoing over the past three days in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

What image opened your eyes to human rights?

By: Chris Michael, Posted: Dec 9 08

UPDATE (12.24.08): This video has been viewed over 350,000 times and had over 1,000 video and text responses. Now, please watch our report-back video with your responses below - and join the conversation!

Read more | 75 comments

Using Facebook et al. to Create Change - Tips, Suggestions and a New, Magical Tool

By: Chris Michael, Posted: Dec 8 08

advocacy, facebook, social networking, tips, tools, video

Facebook has proven to be a powerful online organizing tool for a variety of causes in a wide range of places, from Bogota and Cairo to Durban and Washington DC. Last week I attended a youth summit designed by Howcast, an amazing online portal that has thousands of how-to videos, that focused on the power of Facebook and online tools to advance change*.

B'Tselem Video Shows Israeli Police Head-Butting Unarmed Woman and Man

By: Chris Michael, Posted: Nov 25 08

Israel, Palestine

Internally displaced persons, Police brutality, Violence against women

btselem, demolition, forced evictions, Israel, palestine, police brutality

For years, B'Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, has been harnessing the power of video in it's work to "document and educate the Israeli public and policymakers about human rights violations in the Occupied Territories, combat the phenomenon of denial prevalent among the Israeli public, and help create a human rights culture in Israel." B'Tselem in Hebrew literally means "in the image of," and is also used as a synonym for human dignity.

Saudi Arabia: Activists Face Blowback from Hunger Strike

By: Chris Michael, Posted: Nov 20 08

Saudi Arabia

Arbitrary arrest, Detention, Freedom of opinion & expression

bloggers, Detention, facebook, free expresion, hunger strike, Saudi Arabia, udhr

We just received an email update from Saudi activists that Saudi authorities have "intensified campaigns aimed at suppressing freedom of expressions, blocking media outlets, and stymieing civil movements" since the November 6-7 hunger strike. The response from the Saudi activists? "We're not done yet."

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