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Scaasi Fashion ad
1959

Toronto-based Kurdish artist Roda Medhat pushes the boundaries of fabric into the realm of sculpture, exploring the ways in which traditional West Asian textiles can be translated into various media. As digital fabrication and 3D scanning cross paths with memory and material, Medhat’s practice asks “how we carry our stories, and what happens when those stories are translated into new, synthetic languages?”

The artist’s new solo exhibition, titled From the Loom, fills Toronto’s Abbozzo Gallery with large-scale sculptures in conversation with a new series of textile works. Known in part for his neon installations, the artist also presents several glowing light-based works encased within glass or acrylic, redolent of patterned Kurdish rugs.

Several of Medhat’s images and symbols—most prominently young boys riding horses and interacting with nature—are sourced from Kurdish children’s books. These icons are woven directly into the surface of each textile by way of an electronic Jacquard machine, further accentuating the contrast between preserved cultural objects and contemporary reconstruction. In the exhibition’s statement, Medhat shares that his work “functions as a distillation of a wider body of research,” including the contemporary subversion of archival materials.

“The Sheep and the Chevrolet,” an anchoring work within the exhibition, reimagines François Balsan’s problematic 1947 ethnographic work of the same title. Pitting bucolic Kurdish life with Western modernism, Balsan’s off-key travelogue presented a stereotypical, highly subjective view of Kurdish culture. Medhat’s bold sculpture invokes 3D printing to construct a monumental sheep composedly sitting atop a small Chevrolet vehicle, offering a playful point of reconceptualization.

From the Loom is on view through May 26. You can find more from the artist on Instagram.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Roda Medhat Subverts Traditional Kurdish Narratives Into Modern Tactile Experiences appeared first on Colossal.

BATU PAHAT, June 16 — The Ministry of Transport (MOT) and the Road Transport Department (JPJ) are targeting completion of the MyLesen B2 programme by July to help more youths obtain valid motorcycle licences.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the initiative aims to expand access to safe and structured licensing, particularly for young people and those facing financial difficulties.

A total of RM10.5 million has been allocated for the programme this year, benefiting more than 30,000 participants nationwide.

“We hope it will help more youths comply with existing laws when driving or riding motorcycles,” he said at the Youth Empowerment Programme, MyLesen B2 and MyLesen B2 Sekolah (MyB2S) event at SJK(C) Yong Peng 1 today.

Loke said the MyB2S programme, implemented with the Ministry of Education, involves 60,000 students nationwide with an allocation of RM18.5 million. Johor recorded the highest participation, with 8,000 students.

The programme enables students to obtain a Learner’s Driving Licence (LDL) before undergoing motorcycle training and tests in stages, beginning with practical lessons. — Bernama 

TikTok executives decided not to disable notifications during school hours, ignoring recommendations from their own safety team, and paid millions of dollars to parents’ and teachers’ associations to promote the social network in schools. Snapchat sent alerts to teenagers while they were in class urging them to share what was happening in the classroom. Google executives knew that YouTube was recommending videos to students during the school day that were unrelated to their lessons. Meta paid “teen ambassadors” to promote Instagram and hand out gifts to their classmates.

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Measures to include restrictions on ‘safe’ social media apps, with some fearing banning some platforms and not others will lead to legal challenges

Teenagers under the age of 16 are to be banned from accessing “high-risk” social media apps while safer platforms will be subjected to restrictions, under a sweeping government crackdown.

Under-18s will also be banned from using romantic or sexual AI chatbots after a consultation on keeping children safe online.

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Hart Schaffner & Marx ad
1950s

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Street market downtown Havana

Post sponsored by Zenzap

If you’ve ever tried to track down a decision buried in a message thread or remember where a task was mentioned, you’ve probably seen how messy team communication can get. When conversations are scattered across emails, texts, and different apps, updates get missed, and company information can end up being stored on personal devices.

This usually happens when teams rely on personal messaging apps that were never designed for team communication. You need a secure team chat app that keeps conversations organized and gives you clear control over who can see and do what.

6 Secure Team Chat Apps to Improve Team Communication

Below are six secure team chat apps that help improve workplace communication, along with a clear breakdown of who each is built for and what to take into consideration when choosing.

1. Zenzap: A Secure Team Chat App to Improve Work Communication

Zenzap is one of the best team chat apps for businesses that want strong security, organized team communication, and better team accountability.

Zenzap is intuitive and easy to use. Anyone can start using it immediately. At the same time, it gives you all the professional features and admin control your business needs.

Why Zenzap Stands Out

Zenzap was built to close the gap between consumer messaging apps that lack business control and enterprise team communication apps that can feel overwhelming for non-technical teams.

You get:

• One-click offboarding so you can instantly remove access when someone leaves
• Secure cloud storage, with data stored in the cloud and not on employee devices
• Full admin oversight
• Role-based permissions so you can control exactly who can see and do what
• Audit logs and activity tracking
• Built-in accountability so you can turn messages into tasks
• A mobile-first experience that makes daily team communication more convenient for frontline workers
• Compliance with industry-standard regulations

Zenzap is easy to roll out because it is intuitive and familiar, so teams can start using it with little to no training. You can also import existing chats and add the whole team easily, which helps make setup faster across multiple locations and teams.

Why It Works Best

Zenzap gives you a secure and practical way to manage team communication. It supports daily team communication while making it easier to stay organized, keep information visible, and maintain control as your business grows.

Zenzap delivers:

• Secure, professional features without complexity
• Affordable, cost-effective pricing
• A mobile-first experience
• Clear visibility and control so nothing falls through the cracks

Zenzap is a work chat app built for businesses that need clarity and control in their internal communication.

2. Slack: Built for Technical Teams

Slack is a well-known team communication app that’s built for highly technical teams.

Strengths

• Complex workflows
• Custom automations

What to Keep in Mind

Slack can work well if your team needs custom automations and spends much of the day at a desktop. However, it can often feel too complex or overwhelming for non-technical teams.

Cost is another thing to watch as your team grows. And for frontline teams, it may also be harder to adopt if the app feels too complex for everyday use.

3. Microsoft Teams: For Microsoft-Based Teams

Microsoft Teams is a team communication app frequently chosen by companies that already operate within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

Strengths

• Connects natively with Microsoft 365 tools
• Built-in video conferencing
• Included in Microsoft 365

What to Keep in Mind

Teams is an all-in-one corporate tool that can feel slow and too formal for quick team communication. Its interface is often described as clunky and confusing, especially on mobile, which can also make adoption harder for some teams.

4. Google Chat: Simple and Convenient Chat App

Google Chat is a messaging app built directly into Google Workspace, making it convenient for businesses already using Google tools.

Strengths

• Easy access inside Gmail
• Familiar interface
• Lightweight messaging

What to Keep in Mind

Google Chat was designed for simple, direct messaging and may not provide everything you need to manage internal communication in a more organized way.

5. Discord: Community-Focused Communication

Discord is a social communication app that was built for gaming communities and social groups.

Strengths

• Conversational and informal
• Drop-in voice channels
• Community engagement features

What to Keep in Mind

Discord was originally designed for social communities, so it may not offer the professional security, admin controls, or focused environment that a business needs. It can also feel chaotic for work communication.

6. Twist: Async-Focused Messaging

Twist is a team communication app that’s designed around asynchronous team communication. It organizes discussions into threads to reduce noise.

Strengths

• Thread-based setup
• Reduces real-time interruptions
• Suitable for distributed teams

What to Keep in Mind

Twist is optimized for slower, async-first environments. It is less suited for fast-paced operational teams that rely on real-time coordination.

It also has more limited capabilities, rarely gets new features, and has basic search functionality.

What Makes a Secure Work Chat App Truly Secure

Secure team communication means having clear control over who can access conversations, how data is stored, and visibility across the workspace. A secure work chat app should help you manage all of that easily.

Here is what to look for:

Centralized Admin Control

A secure team chat app should let you:

• Control exactly who can see and do what
• Set role-based permissions
• Monitor workspace activity
• Access downloadable audit logs

Without that level of control, your security depends on individual behavior rather than company policy.

One-Click Offboarding

When someone leaves, you should be able to remove access immediately.

Delays increase risk. The ability to instantly remove access prevents:

• Former employees retaining sensitive information
• Ex-employees poaching staff
• Compliance risk

Secure Cloud Storage

Team communication should stay in secure cloud storage rather than being stored on personal devices.

This helps keep conversations, files, and updates in one secure place, makes information easier to manage, and reduces the risk of important company data being tied to individual employee devices.

Compliance Readiness

Compliance is an important part of choosing a team chat app, especially for businesses that handle sensitive employee, customer, or internal information.

Your team chat app should support the data protection and industry requirements that apply to your business, such as GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2.

Why Many Businesses Struggle with Internal Communication

The issue usually isn't that your teams have no way to message each other. It's that your communication app doesn't match the way your business actually works.

Personal messaging apps are easy to use, but they may not give you enough control for internal communication. Enterprise team communication apps may offer more control, but they can also require more training and feel less convenient for non-technical teams to use every day.

In many companies, that leaves people switching between apps, chasing updates across locations, and trying to remember where a task, file, or decision was last shared.

That's where communication starts to fall through the cracks, and why many businesses are looking into team chat apps that provide a balance of both professional features and ease of use.

Choosing the Right Team Communication Software

The best team communication software should help you keep team communication clear without making the work chat app harder to use than the work itself.

Look for a team communication app that gives you:

• Clarity so everyone knows where information lives
• Accountability so you can turn messages into tasks
• Accessibility so that every employee actually uses it
• Control so you decide who has access to what

You shouldn't have to choose between usability and compliance.

You shouldn't have to sacrifice professional control for convenience.

The right professional team chat app gives you both.

Final Thoughts

To improve internal communication, you need a secure team chat app because it makes team communication easier to manage, easier to keep organized, and easier to control across your business.

When conversations, updates, and files stay in one secure place, your team can communicate more clearly, important information is easier to find, and you’ll have better visibility into daily team communication.

About the Author

Rebecca Lazar

Rebecca Lazar is the Product Marketing Manager at Zenzap. She specializes in helping companies become more efficient and communicate better, while ensuring data security and compliance.

Company: Zenzap

Website: https://www.zenzap.co