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 cila.comminitcila.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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Telemedellín - Colombia

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Telemedellín is the local public television station of the second most important city in Colombia. It was created to offer the inhabitants of Medellín - torn apart at that point by the brutal violence of the drug traffickers - a space for cultural self-examination and for dialogue.
Communication Strategies
The programming at Telemedellín is entirely cultural and educational, without commercial breaks. The station is completely financed by city public institutions.

Some of its most successful programmes have been:
  • "Telemedellín es una nota" (Telemedellín Makes the Grade!) - designed for children in an effort to encourage them to do their homework. It includes diverse experiments and activities designed to encourage the formal education process.
  • "Metropolitanas" (Metropolitan Events) - daily news programme offering analytical and positive treatment of the "news item of the day." It's an example of journalism "focused on solutions," which pays attention to local alternatives in matters of development, culture, the arts and the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
  • "Espacio para la Opinión Pública" (Space for Public Opinion)
  • "Sonido" (Sound) - specializing in music with an emphasis on the preferences of the young.
  • "Vida en Video" (Life in Video) - open space for videos made by viewers, institutions, schools and other local initiatives.
Development Issues
Education, culture and violence.
Key Points
Telemedellín was the result of careful research on the part of city authorities and of an investment of funds into communication which was sustainable from a social point of view. It was conceived as an alternative to the available programming and as an accompaniment to the processes of social change which were already happening in the city and which were emphasizing reconciliation and the resolution of conflicts.
Partners

The Mayor's Office of Medellín, "Empresas Públicas de Medellín" (Public Enterprises of Medellín), "Empresas Varias" (Varied Enterprises) - in charge of the collection of trash and of the recycling cooperatives, "Instituto Technológico" (The Technological Institute) and "Instituto para la Recreación y el Deporte" (Institute for Recreation and Sports).

Sources

La Iniciativa de Comunicaci