2022 has been busy for us in terms of speaking on important issues, and advocating for change.

Our Project co-Lead Anjum Rahman is our official spokesperson, and is quite often asked to give interviews, partake in panel discussions, give presentations, write opinion pieces or articles and provide an IACT perspective on particular issues.

We’ve rounded up the best pieces from 2022 for you to read and listen to! 

Children don’t invent racism, they learn it

“Children do not invent racism, they learn it from the adults around them.  They learn it from conversations and jokes, from media and social media.  They quickly pick up the concepts, and the acceptability of comments and actions they see, even if they have been told racism is wrong.”

Where: The Spinoff 

When: February 25 2022

International Women’s Day: New Zealand women speak about “breaking the bias”

In a week when a microphone-toting protester at Parliament called Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern “some girl in a skirt on a power trip”, and Wellington waitress Marika Beauchamp was awarded $25,000 compensation after being fired for getting pregnant, the Herald on Sunday asked New Zealand women to write about their own experiences of bias.

Where: NZ Herald

When: 6 March 2022

Media law review raises thorny freedom of expression issues

“New Zealand has been trying to update its media laws for the modern digital environment for over a decade. Experts warn there are no simple solutions, so has the Government now bitten off more than it can chew?Anjum Rahman knows more than most about the harmful effects of media content.”

Where: Newsroom

When: 14 March 2022

A lot has changed since March 15, 2019 – but not enough

“Looking back to the days after the March 15 attacks, it seems our country was changed forever.  There was self-reflection, an inner resolve.  It seemed, for a too-brief moment in time, that we would come together to push back on the hate we had witnessed. People wondered how this could happen here, and what we might do to make sure that it never happened again.”

Where: The Spinoff

When: 15 March 2022

The internet is no safer three years on from the Christchurch terror attack

A raft of regulation and policy responses to counter extremist and harmful online content were implemented in the wake of the Christchurch terror attack, but three years on, experts say the internet is no safer – if anything, the opposite is true.

Where: Stuff

When: 15 March 2022

Algorithmic audits: an accountants view

“Algorithms are used in a variety of ways for search engine results, to promote posts and increase virality, and to provide recommendations for similar content. It’s important that we understand the impact of algorithms and the harms they may cause. This blog explores how an independent ‘audit’ could provide a mechanism to assess these harms. It uses the financial auditing process as an example of how an algorithm audit infrastructure might be established.”

Where: Internet NZ – guest blog

When: 15 March 2022

The Panel with Anjum Rahman and Steve McCabe

A panel discussion on current and topical issues from across Aotearoa

Where: RNZ – Pre-Panel, Part 1, Part 2

When: 18 March 2022

NZ tightens Kashmir Files rating after anti-Muslim concerns

“New Zealand’s chief censor has tightened the rating of Bollywood film The Kashmir Files to R18 after warnings it could fan anti-Muslim sentiment.”

Where: NZ Herald

When: 26 March 2022