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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End Malaria - Blue Ribbon Campaign

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As part of an awareness campaign launched in November 2006 by the United-States-based Malaria Foundation International (MFI), blue ribbons with the words "end malaria" are being created and disseminated around the world as a universal symbol in the fight against malaria. The goal of the campaign is to ignite a sense of unity among individuals, organisations, and global partnerships aiming to research and control malaria.
Communication Strategies

This initiative involves galvanising the support of people to fight malaria - that is, by encouraging them to wear the blue ribbon with its "end malaria" message - amongst a variety of people around the world, including business leaders and community groups. The strategy is to encourage concerned individuals to wear this visible symbol of support for efforts to fight malaria, thereby heightening awareness about the disease, and hopefully stimulating solutions.

As part of its effort to spark dialogue and call people to action, MFI officially began the campaign at an annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene by distributing inaugural blue ribbons to all participants (scientists, doctors, pharmaceutical companies, insecticide-treated net (ITN) distributors, and educators). Over 4,000 ribbons were distributed by a team of Emory University student and faculty volunteers; reportedly, by the end of the meeting the majority of participants were displaying a ribbon in their conference name badges. The MFI's 2006 Blue Ribbon Campaign launch continued at the second annual Malaria Business Leadership Conference (MBLC), held at Emory University's Law School in December 2006, and then in Washington, DC at the time of the December 14 2006 Malaria Summit. The ribbons were also presented at the "We Want No More Malaria in Liberia" campaign that took place in December 2006 in Monrovia, Liberia.

Children are taking part in this effort, as well. At a school in Marietta, Georgia (United States), the campaign provided an occasion to teach 4-year old students about how malaria is transmitted, where it is found, and what can be done to help fight the disease. The children are now volunteering to package the blue ribbons on behalf of MFI, to be sent around the world.

Development Issues

Children, Health.

Key Points

According to MFI, malaria kills 3,000 people each day, mostly children.

Click here to access purchasing options for blue ribbon materials. MFI states that 100% of funds raised are used to develop and implement programmes to fight malaria (a broader mandate than some organisations which, MFI explains, use 100% of their funds to provide bednets, exclusively). Donors can sponsor a ribbon and sponsor net, and also support education, research, and broader malaria control projects - in many cases with the establishment of specific relationships with the people in the recipient communities.

Founded in 1992, MFI is a non-profit organisation whose goals are to support awareness, education, training, research, and leadership programmes for the development and application of tools to combat malaria. The organisation tackles malaria from many vantage points, working with partners around the world.