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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Rebuilding Civil Society, Democracy Indeed

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Subtitle
A 3-part Radio Series
Each part consists of 13 twelve minute episodes. The form is entertaining, with drama, music, a soap opera with a cast of five recurring characters: a middle-aged African woman who takes up the challenge to improve conditions in her village, her 18 year old musician son who is cynical about any change taking place, the immigrant from Mozambique who believes in community self-help, a corrupt African businesswoman, and a well-meaning but inexperienced local councillor plus a cast of local characters.

First part: "The Role of Local Governance in Rebuilding Civil Society." What are the powers of local governance? How do you get rid of a corrupt councillor? What are the duties of a citizens? What are the rights and obligations of a councillor? Who controls law enforcement?

Second part: "The Role of Community-Based Organisations in Rebuilding Civil Society." What are CBO's? What role do they play? The Role of the Community Police Forum. The Role of the HIV/AIDS committee. The Role of the Rate Payers Organisation, the PTA, the local business forum.

Third part: "The Role of the School and Education in Rebuilding Civil Society." The problem of the illiterate parent. The role of the PTA. Getting rid of incompetent school officials. The problem of textbooks. Restoring pride in a school. Restoring a culture of learning.

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