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.
 
Co-founder Victoria Martin is pleased to see this work continue under Wits' leadership. Victoria knows that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction.
 
We honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades. Meanwhile, La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA) continues independently at lainiciativadecomunicacion.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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Chanjo Ya Rushwa Campaign

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Initiated by the Swedish Programme for ICT in Developing Regions (Spider), the Chanjo Ya Rushwa campaign combined music, mobile phones, and social media to raise public awareness of the corruption affecting the country and to give ordinary people a voice. The campaign, which took place between September 2011 and August 2012, was carried out by Jua Arts Foundation for the Children with Vitali Maembe and the Spirits, a Tanzanian band known for its Afro-fusion music and challenging lyrics.

Communication Strategies

The programme objectives and related activities included:

  • creating awareness, educating, and inspiring Tanzanians to collectively tackle corruption, selfishness and laziness;
  • carrying out the Chanjo campaign in all of Tanzania;
  • distributing Chanjo music and material over the Internet and mobile phones;
  • creating on-line platforms for debate and documentation;
  • making more people aware of the scope of the corruption crisis; and
  • in the long term, reducing corruption in society.

The Vitali Maembe and the Spirits band performed live in public places in towns and villages around the country. The tour was documented with photo and video, as well as through the Chanjo Blog, Facebook, and other media. Photos and impressions from the campaign were posted on a project blog, and the performers highlighted news on their Facebook pages. Audiences were encouraged to share the songs on mobile phones and to call local radio stations to have them played. The Chanjo album is available for free download, released through a Creative Commons License.

Since the campaign started on October 19 2011, Chanjo has covered 7 regions: Rukwa, Mbeya, Iringa, Morogoro, Dodoma, Singida and Tabora. A total of 23 performances reached at least 7,840 people. According to Spider, for villagers this has been a rare opportunity to speak out about corruption and to be entertained.

Development Issues

On November 10 2011, while performing in the Nzega Tabora region, two plainclothes officers interrupted the concert and took Vitali Maembe to the local police station (where an official from The Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) joined them. Maembe’s own story was immediately published on the Chanjo blog. After Maembe's release, the band decided to take a short break in the tour and focus their efforts on social media.

Key Points

Democracy, Education

Sources

Chanjo Blog, Project information on Spider website, and Tour update from the Chanjo ya Rushwa campaign on December 18 2011.