The Communication Initiative
Development action with informed and engaged societies
The Communication Initiative

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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2nd Pan-African Media and Information Literacy Conference (Dec 1-3 2015)

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Event/Training Summary

Under the theme 'A Culture of Dialogue - Communication and Information in a Digitalizing World', this 3-day conference will focus on current approaches and perspectives related to media and information literacy (MIL) in Africa. "Media and Information Literacy (MIL) includes competencies to access, critically analyze, create, and use information and media in various forms. It is increasingly crucial to all citizens in changing media and information environments, whether we are looking at traditional or new media. These competencies, in the 21st century knowledge society, become even more important when we consider how they can stimulate effective participation in dialogue as well as the democratic and governance processes."

The conference is being hosted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Deutsche Welle Akademie, Germany’s leading organization for international media development, in collaboration with the Pan-African Alliance on Media and Information Literacy (PAMIL) and the Global Alliance for Partnerships on Media and Information Literacy (GAPMIL). It aims to build on the ongoing efforts of PAMIL, and will feature hands-on presentations and participatory workshops based on key media and information literacy related areas.

This 2nd Pan-African MIL conference comes seven years after the 1st African Media Literacy Conference held in Abuja, Nigeria, in July 2008, which focused on empowering children and youth and advancing the benefits of information and communication technologies.

The 2015 conference aims to:

  • "create a forum for debate on a continental position on MIL education in order to encourage national policies and strategies for integrating media and information literacy into school and teacher curricula;
  • give a voice to students and youths by sharing good practices regarding the development and implementation of continental youth MIL initiatives; and
  • create an awareness of the importance of MIL, and promote the relevance of MIL as a catalyst for peaceful communication – particularly in social networks – and as a culture of dialogue."

Click here for more information about the conference.

Registration Information

Participants for the 2nd Pan-African MIL Conference will be drawn from MIL stakeholders across Africa and beyond, including MIL organisations, media and information providers, government agencies, schools, universities, non-governmental organisations, libraries, development partners and youth organisations.

Contact
Vera Moller-Holtkamp
dw-akademie.mil@dw.com

Alton Grizzle
Programme Specialist
Communication and Information Sector (CI)
Tel: 33-1 45 68 42 11
Fax: 33-1 45 68 55 85
a.grizzle@unesco.org

Location

Abuja, Nigeria