Reel Change -- Video Advocacy: a powerful tool for systemic reform

Reel Change Video Advocacy: a powerful tool for systemic reform Emily Cooper

Over the past few years, Disability Rights Washington (DRW) has expanded its use of technology and social media to amplify the voices of our constituents.  DRW is a small, nonprofit organization whose mission to promote and protect the rights on individuals with disabilities in Washington State.   Due to their disability, our constituents may have their voices either marginalized or otherwise muted when it comes to self-advocacy, legislative advocacy, or even litigative advocacy. DRW has used these video advocacy tools to leverage existing finite resources and achieve greater advocacy outcomes for our clients.

Goals and Objectives

1. This workshop will demonstrate how attendees can likewise expand their resources and advocacy capacity in their own local organizations using video advocacy. 

  1. The presenters will share an overview of past projects as well as tips and advice that DRW has learned along the way. 

  2. DRW staff will present various real world examples of video advocacy, including a video of a young woman talking about the importance of intensive in-home mental health services to prevent institutionalization, another video used to show the human face of patients at Washington's state-run psychiatric hospitals, and a recent video advocacy project that focuses on discriminatory questions about mental health status asked of people who want to get a license to practice law.

  3. Each of these videos will also be used as an example of their central role in their respective campaigns for systemic reform.

Link to brief presenter bio: Emily Cooper