The Unravelling: Human Rights Reporting and Digital Storytelling

During this unique masterclass event, Human Rights Watch Emergencies director Peter Bouckaert and leading photojournalist Marcus Bleasdale will discuss the essentials of international crisis reporting—from on-the-ground investigation methods to techniques for ensuring stories reach the broadest audience possible. In November 2013, Bouckaert and Bleasdale began a journey to draw attention to a humanitarian crisis in a country that few people in the world even knew existed. The aim was to document the war crimes and horrific bloodshed that was taking place in the little-known country of the Central African Republic. Culminating in the multimedia project The Unravelling, their investigations have become the most important source of information on a crisis that continues today. This program includes documentary footage from The Unravelling as well as discussions on how the project was produced and disseminated. We will learn how Bouckaert and Bleasdale used every tool available to put the story on the map and the methods they used to capture photographs, videos, and satellite imagery. We will also learn how they crafted their material into a compelling narrative for the public and policy-makers. Special thanks to The Frank Karel Grant for Multimedia Reporting.