Links & Resources
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Media/Arts Advocacy Projects for Palestine

Active Stills: An independent collective of photographers, acting for social change, convinced in the power of photography as a vehicle of change through awareness. ActiveStills operates in Israel and Palestine and focuses on social and political documenting, projects production, publications and open exhibitions at topics in which the public is not exposed in its daily informative routines, managed by the established media. www.activestills.org

Birthright Unplugged offers opportunities for people to gain knowledge through first-hand experiences by visiting Palestine and spending time with internally displaced Palestinian people living inside Israel. The program also brings Palestinian children living in refugee camps toe visit Jerusalem, the sea and the villages their grandparents fled in 1948. www.birthrightunplugged.org

B'Tselem Video Advocacy: In January 2007, B'Tselem launched it's camera distribution project, a video advocacy project focusing on the Occupied Territories, providing Palestinians living in high-conflict areas with video cameras.
www.btselem.org/english/Video/CDP_Background.asp
www.btselem.org/english/Video/Shooting_Back_Background.asp

Electronic Intifada is a not-for-profit, independent publication committed to comprehensive public education on the question of Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories. www.electronicintifada.org

Expressions of Nakba is an international competition and exhibition to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Nakba: the expulsion and dispossession of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes and land in 1948. www.expressionsofnakba.org

Images for Life is a community-based project run through Al-Rowwad cultural and theater training Center, training youth and adults in photography and film-making. www.imagesforlifeonline.net

IMEMC is a media center developed in collaboration between Palestinian and International journalists to provide independent media coverage of Israel-Palestine. www.imemc.org

Voices from the Freedom Theater of Jenin is the website of a group of young Palestinians living in Jenin Refugee Camp which presents their writing, photo and videos. www.voices.ps

Participatory Youth Media Projects

AjA Project's mission is to empower refugee and underprivileged youth through educational programs and to help them create better opportunities for their future. The projects took place in Columbia, Thailand, and San Diego. www.ajaproject.org

Contrast Project works with youth in using digital photography and video as tools for expression and advocacy in Bethlehem area. www.contrastproject.org

Critical Exposure's goal is to help students and organizations advocate more effectively for excellence and equity in public education. It is based in the United States. www.criticalexposure.org

Fotokids: Based in Guatemala, the purpose of Fotokids is to help small groups of Central American young people from the poorest of barrios  develop useful, employable skills as a means to self-exploration, expression, and discovery. www.fotokids.org

Global Action Project (G.A.P.), based in New York since 1991, has worked with young people, specifically those most affected by injustice, to build the knowledge, tools, and relationships needed to produce thought-provoking media on issues that affect them and their communities, and use their media for dialogue and to build community power. Global Voices programs have taken place in Cuba, Croatia, Ghana, Guatemala, Northern Ireland, Guatemala and the Middle East. www.global-action.org

Kids with Cameras was founded in 2002 by photographer Zana Briski out of her work teaching photography to children in Calcutta's red-light district. The powerful film documented the workshop- Born into Brothels has won several awards. www.kids-with-cameras.org

Lens on Lebanon is an international grassroots documentary initiative formed during the Israeli bombardment of 2006. Providing equipment, technical training and artistic support through collaborative workshops with local and international filmmakers, photographers and artists, LOL invites participants living in affected communities to creatively document their experiences in the shadow of war. www.lensonlebanon.org

Picture Balata: photography workshops with youth in Balata refugee camp in the West Bank. balata.justimage.org

The Rwanda Project: Through the Eyes of Children began as a photographic workshop in 2000. Using disposable cameras, the children originally took pictures for themselves and to share with others, exploring their community, and finding beauty as the country struggles to rebuild. Today, the children shoot with both disposable cameras, and for the first time in 2005, digital cameras. www.rwandaproject.org

Youth in Focus, based in Seattle, seeks to empower urban teens, through photography, to experience their world in new ways and make positive changes in their lives. www.youthinfocus.org

General Resources

Collective Lens promotes social change with your photos. Upload a photo and help bring awareness to important issues around the world. You can inspire others to become involved.
www.collectivelens.com

PhotoVoice seeks to bring about positive social change for marginalized communities through providing them with photographic training with which they can advocate, express themselves and generate income. www.photovoice.org

Insight is a UK/France based organization pioneering the use of Participatory Video as a tool for empowering individuals and communities. They develop a very useful guide that can be downloaded on line. www.insightshare.org

The Institute for Photographic Empowerment (IPE) seeks to support the study and practice of participant–produced documentary projects in photography, film, and digital media. The Institute is a resource for people from around the globe—photographers, filmmakers, academics, researchers, and project participants—to share ideas, learn from one another, and develop the field. www.joinipe.org

Media That Matters Film Festival is the premiere showcase for short films on the most important topics of the day. Local and global, online and in communities around the world, Media That Matters engages diverse audiences and inspires them to take action. www.mediathatmattersfest.org

The Research Journalism Initiative is dedicated to changing the way students learn about socio-economic, religious and geopolitical conflict by providing students a direct link to regions of conflict abroad. RJI volunteers living in the West Bank work with Palestinians to produce eduactional films, radio programs and photographic exhibitions. www.researchjournalisminitiative.net

Witness is an international human rights organization that provides training and support to local groups to use video in their human rights advocacy campaigns. www.witness.org

Listing of photography workshops with youth worldwide. www.kids-with-cameras.org/community/

More links will be added soon. Contact us to suggest other related projects and initiatives.