On 4 April 2023 WITNESS announced that Sam Gregory will be stepping into the role of Executive Director after two decades of service to the organization. Sam is a highly respected human rights leader and award-winning technologist who brings over 25 years of global experience innovating and leading interventions at the intersections of video, technology and human rights.

If Sam’s name sounds familiar – it should! [Also from this blog, see: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/tag/sam-gregory/] He has dedicated over two decades to WITNESS, most recently directing programs and strategy. In that capacity, Sam has supported WITNESS’ global teams and partners in more than 100 countries addressing urgent issues such as land rights, state violence, and war crimes – as well as spearheading our pioneering work on emerging technologies such as deepfakes and AI. Sam brings both the history and an ambitious vision for the future of WITNESS.

Sam steps into this role at an exceptional moment for those concerned with information technology and human rights. This era of omnipresent video, growing misinformation, synthetic media, and declining trust in a shared reality presents a serious threat to the idea of truth itself. Sam has led a global effort to ‘prepare, not panic’ for the new digital landscape, fighting for preservation of truth, trust in critical voices, and media integrity efforts. He is also a fierce advocate for centering the voices of those most removed from decision-making centers yet most profoundly impacted by the proliferation of new technologies.

Read more about him here: https://www.witness.org/portfolio_pag…

This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.