How we do it

Film, Verify, Expose

Our methodology overcomes a fundamental problem with traditional human rights documentation: its failure to centre and elevate frontline voices and knowledge.

Many communities face significant security challenges when gathering the details of the violations they suffer, and verification and dissemination problems stymie their effectiveness and utility. We overcome this by developing close, enduring relationships with local activists and communities, reaching areas where the most vulnerable live and harnessing the power of local knowledge.

As civic space contracts and physical, digital, legal, and psychological attacks on human rights defenders increase, our responsibility to our partners and team members has never been greater. In-country, we work covertly to protect the identity of the activists we work with as well as our staff, and continuously update holistic security protocols that minimize risk.

Security

“Videre’s work had a huge impact in bringing out rare footage, secretly filmed, exposing plans of abuses and the abuses that occurred in ruling strongholds and no-go areas for the
opposition. ”
— Dewa Mavhinga, Southern Africa Director at Human Rights Watch
“In-country, we work covertly to protect the identity of the activists we work with as well as our staff, and continuously update holistic security protocols that minimize risk.”

We equip local activists with the technology and training to capture compelling visual evidence of the human rights violations suffered by their communities.

We then put this evidence in the hands of those that can secure accountability and justice, including courts, policymakers, and the media – forcing perpetrators to answer for their actions.

Public disclosure of where and how we operate would place our teams at substantial and immediate risk, making them obvious targets, and would result in greater surveillance of all residents in the communities where we work. Therefore our public profile is deliberately limited and we do not publicize the countries where we work.

Courageous activists are often under-resourced and overexposed. With the right support the risks they face can be minimized, and they can share their story with the world, exposing what outsiders never could. We stay in the background, ensuring the world focuses on what they film instead of who we are.

1. Train and equip

We train our local partners on rigorous security protocols, filming techniques and evidence verification, and supply custom-made video cameras and other situation-specific technology and communications tools.

4. Impact and learning

We monitor how our information is used, tailoring our efforts to those best placed to deliver tangible impact for local communities. We then adapt our programmes based on what we have learnt.

2. Film and support

We guide our local partners in their efforts to capture compelling visuals from hard-to-access areas, and provide ongoing mentoring and support to all those we work with.

3. Verify and distribute

We strengthen our partners’ information-gathering through rigorous verification, and with additional material. We distribute information to those who can best use it, including courts, lawyers, policymakers, civil society, and the media.