Soul of the New Machinr conference reports on new media with serious messages

Witness' strategy is to use video and online technologies to turn personal stories of abuse into tools for pushing policy change. The group trains activists in countries such as Ethiopia to use the Flip camcorder and other devices (but Flip provides both the portability and immediacy of distribution necessary in dangerous situations). The organization has 3,000 hours of archived human rights footage.

"Gone Gitmo," is one example of the new serious approach to interactive learning -- a new generation of "virtual reality" -- a re-creation of Guantanamo Bay in the virtual world Second Life, a project Thijm and Nonny de la Pena launched in 2007 to put gaming avatars into the prison setting for a up close and personal experience.

You can catch video of the Soul of the New Machinr conference session replays online at the Human Rights Center website.