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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Towards a Sustainable Information Society: Deconstructing WSIS

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Author

  • Jan Servaes
  • Nico Carpentier
This book aims to evaluate the potentialities of both the Information Society, and the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), in supporting and constructing more democratic, just and developed societies. It explores the ideal of a sustainable information society, drawing from ideas put forward by the WSIS. It is the second book to emerge from field-work by the European Consortium for Communications Research members.

Contents include:
  • The Unbearable Lightness of Full Participation in a Global Context: WSIS and Civil Society Participation
  • Communication Governance and the Role of Civil Society. Reflections on Participation and the Changing Scope of Political Action
  • Civil Society's Involvement in the WSIS Process. Drafting the Alter-agenda
  • WSIS and Organised Networks as New Civil Society Movements
  • How Civil Society Can Help Civil Society
  • What Price Has the Information Society? A Candidate Country Perspective within the Context of the European Union's Information Society Policies
  • Peer-to-peer: from Technology to Politics
  • From Virtual to Everyday Life
  • Shifting from Equity to Efficiency Rationales: Global Benefits Resulting from a Digital Solidarity Fund
  • Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) as an Instrument of Implementing WSIS Aims

Publishers

Number of Pages

200

Source

WACC Newsletter, Media Action Issue 266, February 2 2006.