Please join the Human Rights Institute and the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center for the February film for the 2009-2010 Human Rights Film Series: Human Rights in the USA.

Film:  “Trouble the Water” (2008)
Directed by Carl Deal and Tia Lessin

 Tuesday, February 9, 2010
4:00 pm, Konover Auditorium
Thomas J. Dodd Research Center

Trouble the Water, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, and nominated for the Best Documentary Feature Academy Award, revolves around the stories of Kimberly and Scott Roberts who captured the scene inside their attic as Hurricane Katrina raged outside their New Orleans home. Weaving together home video from the Roberts’ camera, news coverage of events as they unfolded in real time and footage they shot of the couple over the course of two years, the film constructs a portrait of a community that had been abandoned long before Katrina hit, and a husband and wife surviving not only deadly floodwaters, armed soldiers and bungling bureaucrats, but also their own past. Trouble the Water follows Kimberly and Scott’s journey through post- hurricane despair and chaos as they struggle to navigate the FEMA bureaucracy, resist eviction from temporary housing, cope with traumatic stress, and try to make a new start in Memphis. 

The full film series schedule and downloadable poster is available on the Dodd Research Center’s website at http://doddcenter.uconn.edu/events/hr_usa_film_series.htm

The Human Rights Film Collection at the University of Connecticut Libraries has reached 450 films! 

Recent addions to the Human Rights Film Collection include:

• My Neighbor, My Killer (2009)
• The Reckoning:  The Battle for the International Criminal Court (2009)
• American Outrage (2008)
• Angels on our Shoulders (2008)
• Betrayal (2008)
• Children in the Fields (2008)
• Pray the Devil Back to Hell (2008)
• Taxi to the Dark Side (2008)
• China Blue (2008)
• Children in No Man’s Land (2008)
• XXY (2007)

Click here for a full listing of films.

And mark your calendars, the Human Rights in the USA film series resumes on Tuesday, February 9 at 4 PM with a screening of “Trouble the Water,” about a couple’s experiences during and after Hurricane Katrina.

The UConn Libraries are testing a new library catalog to suppliment our current catalog, HOMER.  The beta catalog searches holdings in WorldCat, so you can quickly find materials held both in UConn Libraries and elsewhere.  It also searches selected databases such as PubMed, ERIC, Articles First, and others. 

Try it out, and let us know what you think!  http://www.lib.uconn.edu/

Apologies for the lack of updates– the past two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity!

I recently wrote a guest post for the WITNESS blog entitled, “Building a Network for Human Rights Archives and Archivists”:  http://archive.witness.org/2009/10/28/building-a-network-for-human-rights-archives-and-archivists/

“In recent years, archival institutions and organizations have become increasingly concerned with issues regarding human rights records and archival collections. Questions of access, privacy, politics, trust, and ensuring the safety of those documenting abuses and potentially controversial records all impact archivists working with human rights collections. Furthermore, the difficult subject matter contained in records of human rights abuses may require additional support for processing archivists who must confront images and accounts of atrocities daily.”

Read more at  http://archive.witness.org/2009/10/28/building-a-network-for-human-rights-archives-and-archivists/

The WITNESS Hub blog posted an EXCELLENT blog post earlier this week with a spotlight on human rights archives:  http://hub.witness.org/ArchivesHumanRights

From the post:

“October 27th marks World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, started in 2005 by UNESCO in order to help “build global awareness of the various issues at stake in preserving audiovisual heritage.” Not so long ago, this lack of awareness almost resulted in the loss of the last remaining video documentation of Neil Armstrong’s historic moon landing. Deterioration and loss due to time, handling, improper storage, and poor documentation continue to threaten much of the world’s moving image heritage.

Among these irreplaceable materials are collections devoted to human rights. The recently released “Right to Truth” document from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights asserts that “the recognition that archives and archivists play a central role in undergirding human rights has grown over the last decade.” Human rights archives are increasingly playing a pivotal role in advocacy, restorative justice, historical memory, and struggles against impunity. And audiovisual documentation – which must be preserved – has become a key component of human rights campaigns.

Below you will find resources, tools, videos, and information on both human rights on archives and archiving. We hope it will be a resource for archivists, activists, or anyone seeking to learn more about these topics.”

Read more at http://hub.witness.org/ArchivesHumanRights

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) are launching a joint online initiative on 8 April to raise awareness of the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges and to show what individuals are doing to make a meaningful difference.

The new web portal, http://www.ourworld-yourmove.org  puts the spotlight on the human cost of wars, climate change, displacement, disease, food insecurity and forgotten crises. It also invites members of the public to post videos and photos, and write about what they are doing to help others. The online gateway features images from award-winning photographers such as James Nachtwey and Ron Haviv, personal accounts from conflict and disaster survivors, and a wealth of ideas for anyone looking for ways to be involved. The site’s launch in 2009 coincides with the 150th anniversary of the battle of Solferino, which led to the creation of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. “The idea of the Red Cross was born 150 years ago when one individual, Henry Dunant, decided to take action to help thousands of soldiers, who were wounded near Solferino in northern Italy. His legacy lives on today in the selfless acts of all those around the world who offer hope in a moment of need or despair,” said Yves Daccord, the ICRC’s director of communications. “Each day, there are countless stories of unsung courage and achievement just waiting to be told. We want the web portal to be a place where someone who is making a difference in one corner of the world can inspire someone on the opposite side of the globe.”

The www.ourworld-yourmove.org web portal exists in English, French, Spanish and Arabic and serves as an online gateway for individuals looking to make a difference. For the first time, the IFRC and ICRC have placed special emphasis on engaging social media sites in an effort to connect with a broader global audience. “We’ve made a real effort to capitalize on the tremendous scope of social networking and new media sites in order to reach beyond our typical support base and build a partnership with the public,” said Pierre Kremer, the head of communications for the IFRC. “We hope to generate a lot of excitement around what we do and why it matters, and encourage people to join us in taking action in their communities, and to make a difference in the lives of people around them.” As part of the online initiative, a new 60-second 3D video will launch on YouTube on 8 April. An innovative technique that renders still photographs into animation was used to make the video.

Both the online clip and the www.ourworld-yourmove.org site offer a sneak preview of what the public can expect when the “Our world. Your move.” campaign officially launches on 8 May, which is World Red Cross Red Crescent Day.