New York, Washington, and San Francisco September and October Workshop Details Announced

Bellingcat will be holding a series of five 5-day workshops in September and October 2018 in New York City, Washington D.C., and San Francisco. Please be aware that some workshops will not be open to government employees.

Dates

The dates of the workshops are listed below:

  • September 17th to 21st – New York City (Open to all) FULL

  • September 24th to 28th – New York City (Not open to government employees) FULL

  • October 1st to 5th – Washington, D.C. (Open to all) FULL

  • October 8th to 12th – Washington, D.C. (Not open to government employees) FULL

  • October 15th to 19th – San Francisco (Open to all) FULL

Content

The intention of the Bellingcat 5-day workshop is to equip participants with the skill set required to verify videos and images, investigate social media, and perform their own investigations.

Day 1

Day one of the course involves hands on exercises and case studies focused on growing the participants understanding of a range of open source investigation tools and techniques. By the end of day one participants will have had hands on experience with a range of tools, and will have been taken through a range of case studies using these tools, from basic examples of geolocation to more complex investigations where the tools they have learnt to use are combined as part of the investigation process.

Day 2

Day two continues by building on the lessons of day one, covering in depth investigations, and explaining the investigation process Bellingcat uses for different types of incidents. This includes advanced methods of investigation and presentation, and includes a 3 hour exercise where participants apply the skills they’ve acquired on a complex group project involve the verification and geolocation of dozens of photographs to recreate a large area of interest. The day concludes with an in depth presentation on Bellingcat’s MH17 investigation, detailing the tools and techniques used as part of the investigation.

Day 3

Day three focuses on investigating social media, including various techniques to investigate individuals on a range of social media platforms, and methods for extracting additional information from those platforms beyond what is immediately apparent.

Day 4 and 5

On days four and five participants break into small group for participant selected and led investigations, that allow participants to learn additional techniques from the instructor and apply what they have learnt in the course to real life cases. In previous workshops this has included tracking illegal amber miners in Ukraine, examining the destruction of a shanty town by military forces following battles with ISIS, investigating moped mugging gangs in London, examining and debunking claims about the Las Vegas mass shooting, and a range of other topics.

Price

Each workshop is $2,500 (including tax) per person, and this covers the cost of the 5-day workshop. It does not cover participants accommodation, travel costs, or food. All spaces are available on a first come, first served basis. Discounts are not available. 

If you wish to participate, please send the following information to contact@bellingcat.com to reserve your space and receive payment details:

  • Name

  • Organisation

  • Billing address

  • Contact email

  • Contact phone number (mobile/landline)

  • Food allergies/intolerance

  • What three things would you like to learn on this course?

  • By order of preference, which workshops would you like to attend?

The exact locations of the workshops will be shared with participants in the coming weeks.

Future workshops in Europe will be offered in November and December, with further US workshops offered in 2019.

 

Related articles