Guest post: WITNESS is an international human rights organization that empowers others to use video to create meaningful change in laws, policies, practices and behaviors. Ryan Schlief has led local and global human rights campaigns in several countries around the globe - primarily involving economic, social and cultural rights. Ryan manages WITNESS' global forced evictions campaign. With an international coalition, WITNESS is using Crowdmaps to profile cases of forced evictions, land grabbing and activists at-risk for working on both during World Habitat Days 16 September - 31 October. The United Nations officially recognizes the World Habitat Day as today, 3 October.

Collectively representing hundreds of organizations and thousands of activists, WITNESS, our partner the Habitat International Coalition, and 5 housing and land rights networks have organized the World Habitat Days to draw global attention and actions to housing issues around the world – as part of our larger focus on forced evictions. The global theme, Right to Habitat: Resistance and Alternatives, will highlight the local resistance to forced evictions, alternatives being presented and collaborate action and research among the hundreds of members of these major networks. During the campaign, the participating networks will expose the causes and effects of forced evictions, the suffering and impoverishment of people affected by rural and urban habitat problems and create solidarity with activists for the right to habitat who have been victimized by repression and violence against their civil and political rights. Watch our video about forced evictions in Cambodia: If you are already working to stop forced evictions or land-grabbing or know about an activist at-risk for fighting on either, add your campaigns and examples of how communities our resisting to a global mapping project. Include any actions or ways others can get involved. If you are not working on a campaign, learn more about campaigns around the world simply by clicking on the map. Some cases will be profiled further on the main World Habitat Days website during the next six weeks. Also if you or your organization have planned events during the World Habitat Days, please add them to a global map showcasing events and actions taking place around the world. Over the next six weeks, we’ll update you through the blog about particular campaigns and events that relates our global campaign on forced evictions. The platform for the World Habitat Days was drafted and signed by dozens of organizations and collectives at this year’s World Social Forum in Senegal. World Habitat Days run for 6 weeks from 16 September – 31 October. Read more at the website.

To help promote World Habitat Day:

Sample Tweet: MAP IT: Add your campaign on #forcedevictions, #landgrabs and activists at risk for World Habitat Days 2011 http://ow.ly/6FMxc #WHD2011