Development action with informed and engaged societies

After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. 

Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future. 

On the transfer, co-founder Victoria Martin expressed her pleasure to see this work continue under Wits' leadership, knowing that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction. 

As Wits, we honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades and look forward building from that strong base. This includes co-founders Warren Feek (1953-2024) and Victoria Martin as well as La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA), which continues independently at lainiciativadecomunicacion.com with links to The CI Global site. We are also eager to forge new partnerships and entertain new ideas as we consider how best to contribute to social and behaviour change in our rapidly evolving environment.

If you are joining the International Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) Summit in Panama, please join Wits and CILA on Monday, 22 June, to share your thoughts and suggestion for the relaunch of the Communication Initiative. We will be in Pacifica 5 from 12-1:25 for the Refuel, Reflect, and Renew Lunch Series: The Communication Initiative: celebrating a driving force for Communication for Social Change and the way forward. We will reflect on the legacy of Warren Feek and family in creating the Communication Initiative, consider the contributions of CI over the years and then turn our attention towards the future in this dynamic session. 

If you are unable to join us in Panama, we still want to hear from you. Please contribute your thoughts by following this link: https://redcap.link/CommunicationInitiative2026 or reaching out to ci_surveys@commint.com

You can also follow the QR Code:

 https://redcap.link/CommunicationInitiative2026

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Entering the Conversation of Young Couples Talking About Life Goals

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These 3 short video case studies from the Health Communication Capacity Collaborative (HC3) team in Nepal are designed to draw viewers into the experience of peer facilitators as they engage in conversation on health with several young couples - each considering the best course of action to meet their life goals. The video portraits offer a glimpse into the lives of real people and illustrate HC3's communication approach of "entering the conversation" as a cooperative partner, seeking to understand beneficiaries' goals, helping them consider options, and navigate toward healthy solutions.

The case studies include:

  1. "New Baby, New Parents" introduces viewers to a Kaski couple full of ideas and feelings about their new life as parents, ready to take action both to immunise their child and to protect him and themselves against an early, unplanned pregnancy. Click here to watch it (7:52 minutes).
  2. "Towards a Brighter Future" tells the story of a young woman and her migrant husband, who returned home immediately in the aftermath of Nepal's major earthquake of 2015. They reflect on that memory and on what is most important to both of them. Their dedication to each other and to the education of their 6-year-old daughter form the basis for their next family decision. Click here to watch it (6:55 minutes).
  3. "Pratima's Community" features HC3 Peer Facilitator Pratima Chaudhary as she carries out her daily round of household visits in her own Chitwan Tharu neighbourhood. Through her conversations, the viewer meets a variety of community members weighing health and family planning choices in light of their own circumstances. Click here to watch it (6:02 minutes).
Publication Date
Source

HC3 website, September 6 2017.