ICT4Peace is delighted to publish this compilation of a series of short papers, articles, op-eds by Sanjana Hattotuwa, ICT4Peace Special Advisor, in the aftermath of the horrendous March 2019 Christchurch massacre in New Zealand and the April 2019 Sri Lanka Easter Bombings. Since March 2018, Hattotuwa is pursuing doctoral research on social media and violence at the University of Otago, New Zealand.
Covering a period of three-years, Hattotuwa’s contributions in New Zealand’s domestic media, international media and other public fora including lectures in Europe critically examine a spectrum of issues brought to light by the 2019’s violence and terrorism. Reducing harm online, how offline context influences online content, the role of disinformation, the reach of misinformation, addressing content inciting violence, the opportunities and challenges posed by AI in the reduction of online harms, domestic media regulation, and human rights considerations in platform governance are some of the issues covered in this collection, featuring op-eds, essays, policy briefs, presentations, lectures and podcasts.
The ICT4Peace Foundation was also honoured to be invited by New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the French President Emmanuel Macron to contribute to and participate in the Christchurch Call to Action Summit, which took place on 15 May 2019 in Paris, France, two months after the two attacks.
In its contribution to the Christchurch Call to Action Summit, ICT4Peace was able to build on its close and fruitful cooperation with UN Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) from 2015 to 2019.
Contemporary debates around online harms and content inciting hate reflect the output and work of the Foundation over many years, including with the United Nations, partners and various bilateral and multilateral platforms in many countries. Through Hattotuwa’s writing, alongside the wealth of related material produced by him and colleagues on the Foundation’s website, ICT4Peace continues to reflect critically and add to significant developments in New Zealand, Switzerland, Europe and beyond.
The Christchurch massacre, resulting in the Christchurch Call as a global platform, I have no doubt will help the world move towards rights-respecting processes to challenge the growth of online harms that increasingly impact all of us, and indeed, now lie at the heart of democracy. Hattotuwa is no stranger to violence, offline and online. His research, writing and insights, shared freely and to wide critical acclaim, are deeply valued at the Foundation.
This compilation reflects the core values of ICT4Peace, to explore and champion the use of ICTs and new media for peaceful purposes. We hope you find it as useful as those who have benefitted from this output since 2019.
Daniel Stauffacher
Founder and President
ICT4Peace Foundation, Geneva
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Download the publication as a PDF here.