Strong Voices

On the shelf opposite my desk in the IHC Library I can see copies of every magazine published by IHC, going back to 1954. The first issue was called Our Newsletter, published by The N.Z. Committee of The Intellectually Handicapped Children’s Parents’ Association (Inc.), as IHC was then known. It is just six pages long and printed in small type with a few black and white photos. There are some other obvious differences from today, particularly in the terms then used to describe people with intellectual disability.

Over the years the title changed from Our Newsletter to The Intellectually Handicapped Child, IH Review, Community Moves and now Strong Voices.

Those first issues were published when the main sources of news were radio and the local paper. Members looked to the magazine to find out what was happening in and around the organisation and in turn the magazine reflected the information IHC identified as important.

The IHC Library itself started as a list of resources in the pages of an early issue.

A decade ago, the IHC Library digitised the early print copies to more easily research the organisation’s history. Some of the scanned copies were part of the timeline in our anniversary exhibition Nothing about us without us marking 75 years of IHC.

We now find ourselves planning for the next 75 years at IHC in an age where we are all bombarded with information. While government’s most recent Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI) report points to an existing digital divide, more of us now get our information digitally and increasingly rely on a number of different platforms and channels. Artificial intelligence is also changing how we find and absorb that information – and sometimes the accuracy of it.  

The curation of concise and correct information for those whose lives are affected by intellectual disability is a big part of our responsibilities at IHC.

In this issue of Strong Voices, we have included a reader survey. We would like to gauge your thoughts on our magazine: what we’re doing right, what’s missing and where you think it should be heading. It will only take a few minutes and you can return it to us in the prepaid envelope provided, or you can fill it in online at: www.ihc.org.nz/svsurvey

We appreciate you taking part and giving us your feedback so we can best align with our mission – to advocate for the rights, inclusion and welfare of all people with intellectual disabilities and support them to live satisfying lives in the community.

Phil Clarke

Head of Library and Information Resourcing, IHC