Experts
Gillian Caldwell
Exec. Director, Witness; Human Rights Advocate
Technology changes everything.
Caldwell, on the role of politics. Read More
People are capable of both tremendous good and tremendous evil, says Caldwell.
Working against unbeatable odds.
Without human rights, we have nothing.
Transcript:Well I mean first and foremost because without our human rights we have nothing. In fact it’s interesting to imagine – almost impossible to imagine – that the human rights treaties and conventions that we talk about are just over 50 years old right now. I mean they were really born in 1948 in the wake of World War II in response to the horrors of that war. And it is remarkable to imagine that in fact prior to that, we had no single framework at a universal global level through which to articulate the right to freedom of speech, the right . . . All of the rights we’re talking about – civil, political, social, economic and cultural – have only recently been codified. And yet they have their origins really hundreds of years ago in various traditions. And you can see them even in many of the religious texts that have emerged over time. So I think when I say without human rights we have nothing, what I mean is that they are so fundamental to our ability to be productive, and healthy, and happy, and cooperative as human beings on this planet. And there’s never been a time when we’re more in need of that kind of cooperation, and collaboration, and productivity.
Caldwell would use the money to look for multi-faceted approaches to global problems. Read More
Everyone should live a life of integrity and commitment.
Legislation is key, but so is individual and cultural change.
Technology creates potential for more creative ways of connecting outside the mainstream media, says Caldwell.
Caldwell believes people are fundamentally good, but we are reaching a tipping point.
Most people are guided by religion, Caldwell says.
It's important to distinguish between terrorists and Muslims. Read More
Not following up on good will.
We must continue putting pressure on China, says Caldwell. Read More
Caldwell worries that the human rights movement isn't in the game.
Putting social justice in a proper context.
Harnessing technology to advance human rights.
Caldwell talks about the the impact of 9/11.
Caldwell asks citizens to participate more.
Growing up in SoHo.
About Gillian Caldwell
Gillian Caldwell is the Executive Director of WITNESS, an international human rights organization that provides training and support to local groups to use video in their human rights advocacy capaigns. Caldwell was a Co-Director of the Global Survival Network (now WildAid), where she coordinated the two-year undercover investigation into the trafficking of women in Russia that culminated in her 1997 film, Bought and Sold. She is the leader of the Witness to Truth video project in Sierra Leone that urges the government of Sierra Leone to implement TRC recommendations. Caldwell was the reipient of the 2000 Rockefeller Foundation Next Generation Leadership award and has been named one of 40 Outstanding Social Entrepreneurs by the Schwab Foundation, a 2003 Tech Laureate by the Tech Museum, and a Special Partner by Ashoka: Innovators for the Public. Caldwell received her BA from Harvard University and her JD in human rights law from Georgetown University. Her videos have been shown as evidence in legal proceedings, such as the international war crimes investigation against Slobodan Milosevic, in the Sierra Leone Truth Commission proceedings, and at the UN. Ideas recorded on: 8/13/07