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Little Brother Is Watching 
photo courtesy of WITNESS
True to its origins, Witness seeks to enact change through video documentaries. Partnering with human-rights organizations worldwide, it provides video technology and training to allow activist groups to tell the stories of oppressed and abused people. Witness also helps its partners plan multimedia campaigns and find suitable distribution channels for video projects. Unlike many media organizations, though, "our goal has never been to try to get on TV," says Patel, "it's only to try to find the key people who have the power to make the change." This might include heads of state and government officials. Because the organization is focused on reaching decision makers and not the general public, it's unlikely that you've seen any of the documentaries produced by Witness's partners. Recently, to increase awareness and accessibility, the organization launched a video-sharing site called the Hub, for citizen journalists and human-rights groups to share information, connect to one another, and organize campaigns. But don't assume it's just a YouTube for activists. "We don't believe [video is] the only tool that can make a difference"says Patel. "It's a complement to written reports, but sometimes it has more of an emotional and more tangible resonance. It's one thing to read about an abuse; it's a whole other thing to see the impact." witness.org Speedy Delivery Unless you live in New York City, Tokyo, Paris, or London—cities with legendary public transportation systems—you probably rely on a car to get around. But in cities of equally legendary congestion and pollution (São Paulo, Mexico City, Los Angeles), a personal car won't get you anywhere quickly. And for many other people around the world, a personal automobile is neither affordable nor practical. Plus, cars have a great negative ecological impact. To keep people on the move with minimal effect on the environment, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) was started. Originally a branch of Bikes Not Bombs, the organization supports bicycle and pedestrian policy initiatives and has worked to supply low-cost, highly durable bicycles to developing countries. The institute also helps cities develop inexpensive mass-transit systems, specifically high-capacity, high-quality bus systems known as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). The TransJakarta Bus Rapid Transit system is an example of the ITDP's initiatives. The ITDP recently concluded a five-year grant in Africa. "Part of the goal of this grant was to bring Bus Rapid Transit to Africa," says Aimee Gauthier, senior program director, who feels the project is a great success. "A lot of the major lenders were saying Africa is not ready for bus reform on this level." As a result of the ITDP's work, BRT systems are being implemented in major cities in Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Ghana. "Once that happens, we switch to being technical advisers," says Gauthier. The organization takes a holistic approach to transportation and public policy, so now that projects are under way, the ITDP is working to integrate bicycle commuting into the mass-transit systems. This involves elements such as designated bike parking in transit stations. "The next phase," says Gauthier, is to bring "serious foreign investments and international private-sector interests into these countries to really cultivate the bike-supply sector." While the eco-friendly nature of bicycles is apparent, ITDP's mass-transit initiatives can be linked to a reduction in carbon emissions of as much as 20,000 metric tons per year. itdp.org Dog Day Afternoon Land mines are not sophisticated devices. Compared with the array of computers controlling many modern weapons, they seem rather crude. But the simplicity of their designs often makes land mines very durable— one of the reasons they remain dangerous long after a conflict has ended. "Land mines are one of those obstacles that impact directly on hope, growth, and stability," says retired Col. Perry Baltimore, president and executive director of the Marshall Legacy Institute. The organization began in 1997 (the 50th anniversary of the Marshall Plan) to extend the vision of George C. Marshall to address modern problems, specifically the issue of land mines. According to the organization's literature, land mines affect people in 70 countries worldwide and maim or kill thousands of people each year. But the problem has deep mental health and social effects: In land-mine-ridden areas, people are hesitant to farm, travel, and play. Further, while it may take only a matter of minutes to cover a large area with mines, it is a long and painstaking task to find and remove them. Currently, mine-detection dogs are the most efficient way to clear mines from large areas. "It's remarkable that in this highly sophisticated and technological world we live in, it's still an animal that is the best detector for mines," says Baltimore. The institute estimates that a mine–detection-dog team can safely clear mines from an area 30 times the size of what a human-only team can do in the same amount of time. As of this year, the Marshall Legacy Institute has donated more than 100 dogs to the cause of land-mine removal in war-torn countries. "Now this is our 11th year, and we've got programs in nine countries," says Baltimore. The institute also reaches out to young people through an initiative known as the Children Against Mines Program, referred to as CHAMPS. In addition to aiding children who have been injured by mines, the program raises awareness of the land-mine issue among American children in an attempt to foster global citizenship and give them a greater understanding of their role in the international community. marshall-legacy.org |