From the USHR-Network Conference in Chicago

Writing from the U.S. Human Rights Network's national conference in Chicago, The Opportunity Agenda has been one of a great number of social justice organizations here working to secure and expand those fundamental rights that all humans deserve. Amidst the more than 400 registered participants, there are advocates, students, social justice leaders and consultants exchanging ideas on how the human rights frame can be strengthened and mobilized.

Most interesting, for me, has been the demand for sessions that focus on using new media as an advocacy tool. Yesterday, I attended a session on video advocacy, presented by Witness, a nonprofit group out of Brooklyn who empowers human rights groups around the world by teaching them how to be citizen video journalists. Their HUB is an excellent on-line video advocacy tool, where user generated materials can be uploaded and shared.

Everyone loves moving images with fancy graphics and sound. But, as compared to previous years, there seems to be a shift from gazing at the bells and whistles, to seeking out a greater depth on how these tools can truly further the human rights initiatives here in the U.S.

I'll be attending two more sessions over the remaining two days, both of which focusing on this new media as a tool for informing and mobilizing audiences. It's reassuring to see such a high interest in social media, which is still undergoing adolescent growth across the board. and the more human rights advocates can stay ahead of the curve, the stronger offense they can have in challenging opposition rhetoric.

Chicago is a great town for a conference such as this, the city having a long history in domestic human rights work. Over 120 years ago, during the Columbian Exhibition of 1893--where Chicago got the title of the "Windy City" after its unprecedented public relations campaign to win the bid for the World's Fair marking the 400th anniversary of Columbus landing in the New World, this expanding frontier town was forced to deal with the gross human rights violations that came as a result of the fair, itself. Things like labor, immigration, healthcare, housing, homeless and racial justice issues came to a head in just a couple of years. The event placed Chicago on the map as a world class city, with world class problems, forcing it to come up with new solutions. Those solutions made Chicago a leading town for labor and advocacy.

Let's hope the innovations presented at this years conference help change the direction the wind has been blowing for many years now, in regards to the work that needs to be done to overcome current problems in labor, immigration, housing, poverty, healthcare, race and gender issues, to name a few.