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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Association of Broadcasters for Child Survival - Global

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The Association of Broadcasters for Child Survival (ABCS) was formed as a result of a four-day seminar hosted by the Voice of America in Washington, DC, USA in April of 1998. They have designed an international web page to encourage the exchange of ideas and expertise among broadcasters, health communicators, and governmental and non-governmental organisations. Together these groups will develop programming for child health and behavior change interventions
Communication Strategies

Members of ABCS collaborate on programming, share information, and pool resources. They have created one-minute Public Service Announcements to promote awareness of issues of child survival.
Development Issues

Children, youth, child rights, health.
Key Points

"Although news broadcasts inform much of the world about critical health concerns in times of crisis, child survival programming should be featured more regularly on local and international broadcasts. News features, radio dramas, call-in programs and public service announcements have proven effective in disseminating information to parents, health care providers and other care givers. Radio is a highly effective, cost-efficient medium for transmitting information to populations plagued by high rates of child and infant mortality. With ten radio receivers to every one television set, radio reaches even the most inaccessible areas, in the listeners' languages."
Sources

Letter from the ABCS and Voice of America web site.