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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I Am One of 7 Million: Young People Living With HIV Advocacy Messages

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Global Network of People living with HIV (GNP+) and the World AIDS Campaign developed these key advocacy messages and a briefing paper by and for young people living with HIV. These messages resulted from an online survey with 168 young people living with HIV from 55 countries, as well as a literature review and interviews with several key informants. 

These messages are centered around the topics of:

  • Universal Access - emphasising the need for health services that address the changing needs of individuals as they progress through childhood and the responsibility of governments to take part in making Universal Access a reality.
  • Rights - advocating for the removal of laws criminalising HIV transmission, and creation of laws protecting the rights of people living with HIV.
  • Meaningful Involvement - advocating for an individual's right to choose their own level of involvement.
  • Leadership - emphasising the need for effective leadership development to benefit both individuals and their communities.
  • Safe Disclosure - defining the need to be empowered to safely disclose HIV-positive status not only for the well-being of the individual but also for their peers, with the intent of encouraging more young people to get tested and get the support they need.

Publishers

Publication Date
Languages

English, French, Spanish, Russian

Number of Pages

2

Source

Interagency Youth Working Group Youth InfoNet #82 online newsletter, November 17 2011.

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