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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African Media and ICT4D: Documentary Evidence

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Summary

From the Introduction

This study is aimed at encouraging journalism and coverage of ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) and Information Society issues. It reviews the coverage of ICT issues in African media, and identifies areas of weakness.


Conclusions of the survey include:

  • There is lack of critical analysis in ICT reporting: the views of influential spokesmen are almost never challenged by the media;
  • Stories are seldom followed up, the newsrooms seem to wait for the next press release, ministerial announcement, or company cocktail party launching a new product. So the unfolding story of ICT developments in any one country is largely absent;
  • The voice of the people is absent: the average citizen would not be able to identify personally with most ICT stories encountered in this study. They are largely impersonal, and deal with government issues, large organisations, big companies, or large sums of money;
  • Rural ICT projects are seldom or never reported: most stories are generated in the capital city and other urban areas;
  • There is silence on ICT policy and WSIS (World Summit on the Information Society);
  • Editors are uninformed on implications of information society developments;
  • Journalists lack knowledge on information society developments;
  • Newsrooms lack connectivity: many newsrooms have no Internet access at all. It is often the case that newsroom journalists have no real skills in online information retrieval, or in evaluating information found online;
  • There is poor NGO media liaison;
  • There are too few women in ICT journalism.


The report recommends:

  • A series of expert "awareness" workshops should be held for editors;
  • Training and networking of journalists and other media workers;
  • Online ICT courses for those teaching journalism skills;
  • News exchanges for ICT stories, with an archive of older stories;
  • Creating an African information society debate journal;
  • NGOs need to learn how to get their stories into the media;
  • They need to build realistic communication and media liaison strategies into projects;
  • Creation of ICT-related journalism awards.
Web link
Click here to read the full report in PDF format.
Source

UNECA Website