Institute of Development Studies

Interview with B’Tselem, One World Media Award Winners

1 July 2009

B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, recently won the Special Award at the One World Media Awards for their project which provides video cameras to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Issa Amro, the project’s coordinator in Hebron, spoke to IDS about the project as part of the new podcast – The Big Question for Development.

One World Media Awards

The One World Media Awards reward the most outstanding media coverage of the developing world. The Special Award, sponsored by the Institute of Development Studies, recognises B’Tselem’s outstanding use of the media to promote and support human rights and fair government. The citizen journalists working with B’Tselem use their cameras to document human rights violations. B'Tselem then uses the footage to advance human rights and law enforcement in the region.

Over the past three years participants have filmed dozens of incidents of violence by settlers and soldiers, as well as documenting their daily lives under occupation. Video footage such as the beating of Palestinian shepherds by masked settlers in Khirbet Susiya have been broadcast widely by Israeli and international media and given to Israeli law-enforcement authorities.

The Big Question for Development Podcast

The Big Question for Development is a new monthly podcast from IDS. Each month two people working on development issues across the world will talk about their work and answer the question ‘What do you think is the big question that Development Studies needs to answer?' The program for July 2009 also features Joanna Wheeler, research manager for the Citizenship Development Research Centre, about the challenges and importance of researching violence. Joanna is the lead editor on the latest issue of the IDS bulletin: Violence, Social Action and Research.

Image: Issa Amro and Oren Yakobovich at the One World Media Awards

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