The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions New technology has created new ways of communicating, including through social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. This technology provides a cost- and time-effective way for NHRIs to communicate with different groups of people. It can also be an effective way to engage with geographically isolated populations. However, it must be remembered that access to these forms of communication is not always possible in some isolated locations. 202 WITNESS is an international human rights organization that partners with local human rights organizations to provide training and support to use video in their human rights advocacy campaigns. These videos can raise awareness of human issues and make the case for reform of State laws, policies and programmes. For example, videos from these collaborations have helped shed light on the human rights situation in Myanmar, been used to prosecute recruiters of child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and helped facilitate the passage of the first law protecting elders from abuse in the United States of America.202 To engage effectively with the media, NHRIs should develop a communication strategy. This strategy should identify the initiatives that could benefit from media involvement and may involve actions such as employing public relations or press officers, providing communications training for staff and/or developing relationships with key media figures. KEY POINTS: CHAPTER 7 • Promoting awareness of, and respect for, human rights is a core function of NHRIs. • Raising awareness of indigenous peoples’ human rights is of fundamental importance for their protection, promotion and realization. • There are a range of educational and training activities that NHRIs can undertake on the Declaration and indigenous peoples’ human rights. This includes both formal and informal human rights education activities, as well as working with the media and using social media to raise awareness and understanding of human rights issues affecting indigenous communities. 202 More information is available at www.witness.org. 68 | Chapter 7: Awareness raising and education