For me, public knowledge means that knowledge, access, and production are treated as public and
social goods. That is, goods in the public interest for purposes that matter to people, like learning justice, self-determination, and memory keeping.

Patricia Hswe on what is public knowledge

For me, public knowledge means ensuring that knowledge access and production are treated as public and social goods ... for purposes that matter to people.

Everyone should have access to public knowledge resources, but certain challenges, like the so-called
digital divide, continue to prevent equitable access.

Patricia Hswe on the digital divide

Patricia Hswe serves as program officer in the Public Knowledge grantmaking area at Mellon Foundation.

Headshot of Patricia Hswe

Public Knowledge

OpenGraph DefiningPublicKnowledgewithProgramOfficerPatriciaHswe

Defining Public Knowledge with Program Officer Patricia Hswe

Artists as Catalysts

Artists as Catalysts Navigation Image

Beyond Incarceration

A side profile of a Black poet who is wearing glasses and a hat with a feather hat pin.

Borderlands Cultures

In portrait orientation, an aerial view of a major highway running parallel to a large border wall set on a hilly landscape

Civic Engagement

A man in a brown jacket stands in front of blue bulletin board that is covered with papers and advertisements  

Evolving Higher Education

A vertical image of an Indigenous person who is sitting on a chair in front of a backdrop.

Expanding Public Knowledge

An interior room filled with audio and video equipment 

Monuments and Memory

A multicolored painted totem pole set in front of a foggy forest landscape

Multivocality

Five people stand together in a group photo. They are laughing and smiling.

Power of the Word

Five colorful neon signs hang on the wall with messages that include, "Freedom cannot wait," "Brown owned," and "America is for Dreamers."

Public Places‚ Public Stories

A group of Indigenous Maskoke people stand and sit in the wooden frame of a structure in a woods

Puerto Rico and Its Diaspora

In a vertical image, a black leather vest is adorned with colorful pins across the front of it. Embroidery on the vest reads: "Felícitas "La Prieta" Méndez" 