Reflecting on last weekend’s working weekend with our Media as Allies group

After more than two years, our Media as Allies constellation group had the pleasure of meeting and joining each other face-to-face in Te Whanganui-a-Tara! The rōpū has been consistently meeting and delivering work since 2021, and with new members at the helm, we figured it was finally time to whakawhānanunga in person and develop a strong one-year action plan for the year ahead!

What is Media as Allies?

Media as Allies is a group that emerged out of our belonging conversation research, which showed that inaccurate and inauthentic media representation was a prominent barrier to well-being and belonging with communities across the country.

With further community consultation and co-design, the group was formed to develop resources and solutions for improving media representation across media in Aotearoa, New Zealand. As a group held by Inclusive Aotearoa Collective Tāhono, their work directly relates to improving belonging by minimising negative representation of our country’s diverse communities. We recognise the media’s power to reinforce or dispel stereotypes, which can impact not only individuals but entire communities’ well-being.

The working weekend

An essential part of the weekend was creating room for whakawhānaungatanga. Through sharing tūrangawaewae, stories, and hot takes on politics, we reached a place of trust, and it became easy to pour our energy into the mahi.

After a long day of deep-diving and ideation, we are confident with the identity and trajectory of Media as Allies going forward, and can’t wait to bring its kaupapa to the people!

Our vision: Under-represented communities are authentically reflected and included across all media.
Our mission: Advocating for and enabling authentic representation across all media.
Our outcomes: 
         – Establish equitable media representation of cultural communities.
         – Minimise harm and build cultural understanding through education, resources and practices.

As for the plan for 2024–2025 – keep an eye out and you’ll see soon enough!