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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Impact Data - Generation 1997 Theatre Project

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Knowledge Shifts
Participation in the process enabled both generations to explore & break down prejudices between them. "During the project & performances, feedback from the school & the wider community indicated support for the aim of improving intergenerational relationships". The children learned that they needed to exercise self-discipline & respect around the elderly theatre members & "the head teacher reported improved attendance amongst persistent truants & an increase in confidence & language skills". Informal discussions after the play indicated that audiences recognised the situation & characters portrayed & identified with the narrative.
Practices
Solid friendships were developed during the theatre project including an acceptance of one another. "The participants sought each others' company outside of the project structure & teachers praised the level of commitment from students with problems such as truancy, learning difficulties & communication". Between the years of 1997 & 1999, there was a decrease in the harassment of older people, noted by youth, community workers & pensioners. "The community has recently raised funds for a new phase of intergenerational drama work".
Attitudes
Initial attitudes toward the elderly by the youth group showed disrespect in their loud & raucous behaviour. Also, their poetry (1000 poems in all) reflected feelings of distaste toward the elderly: "References to smell, rage & wrinkles & a preoccupation with unfashionable clothes worn by 'old grippers in slippers' were themes that reoccurred". The 'River of Life' pictoral diagram that the elderly used to display their attitudes toward the younger generation showed both positive & negative qualites. Mutual trust developed throughout the project & the group body sculptures ('still pictures') used to reflect attitudes were "very different to the attitude expressed in the earlier poems". Members of the Small World Theatre group noticed a "softening of attitudes & a building of positive relationships between the generations".
Access
Over a period of 9 months, a group of 20 secondary school students between the ages of 12 & 16 took part in the play with 10 pensioners from the Healthy, Wealthy & Wise (HWW) group, who's ages ranged between 67 & 85 years. There were 7 performances in July in schools & community halls in Ely, Cardiff during festival week. Approximately 2000 people saw the show & extracts & comments were broadcat on HTV & S4C. A single performance in September for policy makers was held in an arts centre outside Ely.