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

Time to read
1 minute
Read so far

Playgroup Resource Book

0 comments
Subtitle
For Children Aged 3-5 Years and 6-12 Years
SummaryText
According to the Overview of this book: "The purpose of the Playgroup Resource Book is to guide Implementing Agencies and Family Care Community Assistants in how to run quality playgroups in their villages. It gives guidance and step-by-step instructions for organizing playgroups and facilitating playgroup sessions for children aged 3-5 and 6-12 years old. The book is designed to allow those facilitating the playgroup sessions the flexibility to pick and choose activities, games, songs and group lessons that are suited to the children they are working with, the time and materials available to them, and their geographical location and setting....

Play is especially important for orphans and other vulnerable children, as they may have experienced emotional or physical trauma. Play helps children develop problem-solving, creative, and motor skills; helps them learn how to interact with other children; enhances their emotional and physical wellbeing; and helps their caregivers better understand them. The Playgroup Resource Book offers guidance on how to run playgroups in villages, tailoring activities for different scenarios, ages, locations, and needs of the children. The Playgroup Resource Book is designed for use in resource-limited settings, so materials and preparation needed are minimal....

As the book is designed for use in resource-constrained contexts, all of the activities require minimal materials and preparation. Where materials are needed, almost all are readily available in the villages or can be bought at the local market."
Publication Date
Number of Pages

132