Isabella Rega

I am Professor of Digital Media for Social Change in the Faculty of Media and Communication at Bournemouth University. I hold a Ph.D. in Communication Technologies and an Executive Master degree in Intercultural Communication from the Università della Svizzera Italiana.

During the past 20 years, I have been investigating the use of digital media to promote social and community development in disadvantaged communities in the Global South. I have written, managed and led an extensive number of competitive research projects funded by National Research Bodies, e.g. the Swiss National Science and Research Foundation, the British Academy, the UK Art and Humanities Council, the European Commission, with a portfolio of 30+ international projects in Africa and Latin America, involving academic, private, public and third sector partners, for an overall budget of more than 4 million euro. She has led and participated in consultancy work for the British Council and the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and she has served as reviewer for the South Africa’s National Research Foundation and for the UK Newton and Global Challenges Research Fund schemes.

I have extensive experience in the international cooperation sector: in 2006 I co-funded a non-profit organisation, Associazione seed, working on ICT4Education projects; and I have been Global Research Director at Jesuit Worldwide Learning (2019-2023), leading the research efforts of the organisation on the impact of Higher Education on marginalised communities around the globe and on the effectiveness of digital technologies to deliver high-quality educational experiences. In 2023, I served as co-chair of the Distance Education Working Group of INEE, the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies.

I have published articles in various journals, such as Media and Communication, the Journal of Information, Communication & Ethics in Society, Information, Communication & Society, and Tapuya: Latin American Science, Technology and Society. I co-authored the book Media Activism and Artivism in the Global South with Dr Andrea Medrado, published by Routledge (2023). The book was shortisted for the MeCCSA Monograph of the Year Award and won the ICA Activism, Communication and Social Justice Interest Group Award.

I serve on the advisory board of the Journal of Media Literacy Education and is a board member of IDIA (International Development Informatics Association) and CIRN (Community Informatics Research Network).