News Story

KMi supports Fight Against Hate Campaign in Milton Keynes

Tracie Farrell, Thursday 20 Jul 2017

On Wednesday, July 19th, the Open University Library welcomed students from five local schools to celebrate their participation in a poster competition about fighting hate crime and hate incidents in Milton Keynes. The competition was launched by the Citizens:MK Fight Against Hate Campaign, to raise awareness and encourage young people to participate in building a more equitable society. The entries were scored by an independent panel of judges, awarding three lucky pupils the top prizes.

KMi had the honour of sharing our commitment to diversity and tolerance by sponsoring the 3rd place prize. The award was presented by Dr. Miriam Fernandez, who spoke briefly to about the contribution of computer science to fighting hate, especially online. Milton Keynes is a diverse area with a growing population and a younger age profile than other areas in the country. More than 25% of the population belong to minority ethnic groups. KMi is also a diverse research lab, with more than 15 countries represented among our staff, and several of our research efforts intersect with issues related to intolerance, extremism and access to information. We congratulate all of the participants and their teachers.