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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Community Conversation Toolkit (for HIV Prevention): HIV/AIDS: What Are You Doing about It?

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C-Change developed the Community Conversation Toolkit - a set of six materials on HIV prevention for low-literacy audiences - to assist communities in the southern Africa region to initiate discussions around key drivers of HIV. The materials are designed to help low-literacy audiences "make meaning" for themselves of the information on key drivers of HIV and AIDS.

These interactive formats (listed below) are designed to mobilise adults, aged 20 and above, in communities to take action toward HIV prevention. The toolkit is intended to complement existing HIV prevention activities and address several key drivers of the epidemic: concurrency, cross-generational sex, gender-based violence, and alcohol abuse.

Materials in the Community Conversation Toolkit include:

  • "Facilitator’s Guide;
  • Community Mobilizer’s Guide;
  • Community Mobilizer’s Cards;
  • Roleplay Cards;
  • Storytelling Finger Puppets;
  • Promotional Proverbs and Best Kept Secrets Throw Boxes;
  • Promotional Playing Cards; and
  • Dialogue Buttons.”
Already adapted in six countries in Southern Africa, C-Change has adapted the toolkit for Nigeria. The materials were pretested in Nigeria with intended audiences in Cross River and Kogi states. Stakeholder consultations were also conducted with government counterparts, donors, and partners for technical input and buy-in. The Nigeria version and other country versions are available on C-Hub through the link below.

Publishers

Publication Date
Languages

English, Chichewa, Kikaonde, Ndebele, Lozi, Sotho, Zulu, Seosotho, and Siswati, with possible further language adaptations.

Source

C-Hub, January 10 2011 and June 12 2012.