Communication professor François Bar chaired a two-day workshop April 2-3 at USC Annenberg to launch a five-year research project that will gauge the impact of public access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) in various countries.

The central hypothesis of the project, titled Impact of Public Access to ICT Project and funded jointly by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Canada's International Development Research Center (IDRC), is that the existence of public venues where people can access the Internet makes a difference to the economic and social well-being of individuals, communities and countries. Public venues include both privately and publicly owned places such as libraries and cyber cafés. The project will study three countries - Bangladesh, Chile and Lithuania - the first year, and then expand to five more countries in year two.

Bar said the project is unique because researchers have the luxury to spend a long period of time studying Information and Communication Technology access across a wide range of countries.

"We're hoping to break ground by providing an empirically based understanding of why and how public access makes a difference in these countries," Bar said.

Other USC Annenberg professors participating in the workshop included Dean Ernest J. Wilson III, Manuel Castells, Jeffrey Cole, Jonathan Aronson, Sandra Ball-Rokeach, Peter Monge and Larry Gross, as well as Annenberg Ph.D. students Araba Sey, Melissa Brough, Charlotte Lapsansky, and Sasha Costanza-Chock.

"We’re trying to get our hands around what goes on in those public places," Bar said. "One of the fascinating aspects is the social experiences and learning taking place. People are not just downloading information - but also uploading and creating content, as well as communicating and collaborating in new ways."

Annenberg Research Network on International Communication 
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
International Development Research Center