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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World for Children - Global

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In 2001, the BBC World Service Education and UNICEF hosted a programme in which children across the globe reported on their rights. Over 250 radio programmes were produced in 22 languages. The purpose of this broadcasting initiative was to promote a worldwide debate on children's rights in line with the United Nations Special Session on Children, which took place in New York (USA) in May 2002. The project consisted of radio programmes and a website, both of which focussed on two areas: children's rights and "children's millennium dreams".
Communication Strategies
This initiative used radio and the Internet to address questions such as: What are our responsibilities to children? How are governments worldwide protecting and ensuring their well-being? And how are they failing?

The participation of children was central to the effort. Organisers claim that at least half of the voices in every programme were those of children; in total, over 1,380 children were featured on air.

A special website was set up to increase the reach of the project. Visitors could (and still can) click onto links in the following categories to listen to the radio programmes and read scripts, access learning materials, visit related links, and learn more about The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child:
  1. Health: "Read and listen to four reports about a child's right to the best health care available."
  2. Care and Protection: "Find out how a child is entitled to safety from violence."
  3. Identity: "All children have a right to a name, a nationality and a cultural heritage."
  4. Education: "Governments should ensure children receive a good education. Are they?"
  5. Inclusion: "The youngest of citizens should take part in cultural and sporting activities."
  6. A Voice and Information: "Children are entitled to express their opinion and have access to information."
Development Issues
Children, Rights, Health, Education, Conflict.
Key Points
Project organisers state that, "Despite the progress that has been made since 1989, when the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child came into being, children's rights continue to be neglected in many areas...."

The May 2002 United Nations Special Session on Children was a meeting of the UN General Assembly dedicated to the children and adolescents worldwide. Click here for further details on that event. Organisers state that, "Despite the progress that has been made since 1989, when the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child came into being, children's rights continue to be neglected in many areas...."

According to the BBC World Service Trust, the project website was accessed by over 4,500 users in less than 3 months.
Partners

BBC World Service Education, UNICEF.

Sources

Letters sent to The Communication Initiative from Joanne Edwards (on March 5 2004) and Hayley Sillence (on March 30 2004); and project page on the BBC World Service Trust website.