Activists and Nonprofits are turning to YouTube to spread their message

As a media and technology activist, I’ve been researching, testing and tweaking ideas on how to incorporate social networking into Working Films’ online presence. Since we work with documentaries, we needed a visible place to host trailers and video clips and to also spark discussions about films in an interactive way. It was only a matter of time before we would turn to YouTube, the 3rd most visited website on the Internet according to Alexa, to fulfill that need.

Many organizations have started using YouTube’s non-profit program to spread their message and calls to action to a wider audience. Working Films recently became a part of this program and shortly after, our Biofuels High video was featured in the Spotlight section of the YouTube Nonprofits and Activism page. The clip, which you can view below, is a video extra from the Everything’s Cool Activist DVD. The clip highlights the Automotive High School in Brooklyn, NY and how their students are the future engineers and visionaries for a green energy economy.

More recently, another video extra from the Everything’s Cool Activist DVD, Green Jobs Revolution, was featured on the Nonprofits and Activism page. We’re hoping that these opportunities will help us spread the powerful messages in the films we work with and will encourage people to share their opinions about the issues raised.

You can view more videos at Working Films’ YouTube page. And be sure to leave us a comment!

External Link
Mashabe: http://mashable.com/2007/09/27/youtube-nonprofits/

“But first it will make you miserable.” Typically, people know the first part of that quote, but rarely do they understand the meaning of the second. Recently, Working Films organized a summit that brought together grassroots activists, organizers, peace-builders and others who have been involved in truth and reconciliation efforts and racial justice around the film, Greensboro: Closer to the Truth. The summit, which was also attended by Greensboro filmmaker Adam Zucker, proved to be a ground-breaking discussion for people to talk about the many meanings behind the nature of what we do when we work on issues of racial and social justice. We talked about the nature of truth and how dominant institutions are often invested in a narrative that trivializes the need for racial dignity. We talked about the power of the people to reclaim their own democracies by setting up their own unofficial truth and reconciliation projects. We talked about the differences between truth and reconciliation when it comes to events of racial violence, and how standing up to racism often doesn’t start with a commission and definitely doesn’t end with a report; they are part of a process that continues every day. But most of all we talked about who we need to get “Greensboro” closer to, because none of us have gotten to the truth yet, and the sooner we get there…the freer we’ll be.