Innocent Bystander

What power does an innocent bystander have to change a violent or oppressive situation?
What are the best tactics for using video to promote human rights and justice?

Search and discover…

As technology has advanced, media recording devices have become smaller, and cheaper, and more and more people are able to record and distribute videos about human rights abuses. In order to help train people, organisations such as WITNESS & the Tactical Technology Collective use the internet to offer advice and effective strategies.

Copyright [DOC]

Watch and learn

Click the “PLAY” button below and watch a short video on the importance and power of being a witness to human rights abuses, and making a recording in order to raise awareness among others.

[SOURCE: Witness.org | Last visited: 09 February 2015]

1. Watch this short video on “Getting Ready to Make a Human Rights Video”:

2. Investigate the WITNESS blog.
3. Find a post about “Protecting yourself, your subjects, & your human rights videos on YouTube”.
4. Why do you think it is important for someone who makes a video about human rights abuses to protect the people who appear in it? What other advice and recommendations can you find in the blog about making human rights videos?
5. Read the 10 Tactics card on planning recording of a witnessed human rights abuse: Why do you think it was so difficult for bloggers and video-makers in Burma to get information out about the killing of the monks?
6. Consider what might prevent you from doing something when you witness a fight or violence between ss at your school, or speaking out when you see someone bullying or harassing someone else. What holds you back, if you don’t do something – what makes you walk away and not interfere? Do you have any different sense of your ability to change a situation after watching/reading the case studies on the WITNESS and 10 Tactics sites?

Discuss

Talk with your neighbour or in small groups and brainstorm ideas for using video to promote awareness about issues in your school or community.

For inspiration, read about the “Through Our Eyes” project of Merrylands High School.

Email

1. Go to the Tactical Technology Collective website to find out how to plan and host a screening of 10 Tactics at your school.

2. Email Tactical Tech to get a toolkit, the film, and ask their advice on hosting a screening of their film. Their email address is: infoactivism@tacticaltech.org
3. Use the screening at your school to motivate other students and widen the discussion that you started in your class about issues that might be addressed using video (Challenge #3).
   
   • Even if you only get a few more students interested in joining in on a campaign with you, it will be worth the effort!
   • You may even decide to start up a human rights awareness group at your school, to help make other students aware of what they can do to promote human rights in Australia and overseas

Host a video conference

Congratulations…
you have almost completed the “Innocent Bystander” interactive learning challenge!

For your final task, you need to expand your audience beyond your school, and share your ideas and insights with students from other schools in your state.

If you are in NSW, contact the Rural and Distance Education in Dubbo and ask how you can use the Connected Classroom in your school to host a video conference with other schools.