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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Communications and Social Change [conceptual model] - The Rockefeller Foundation

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This summary is based on a power point presentation that included the Conceptual Model of Communication for Social Change from November 2001.

PRINCIPLES & TRENDS

Desirables for Communication and Social Change
  • Democracy and Civil Society Initiatives will become more prevalent
  • Human rights, women's rights and pro-democracy movements will continue to grow
  • New institutions - small, community based, self-sufficient, accountable - and new ways of operating
  • Institutions will emerge around the globe
  • Organisations will become more accountable, transparent and efficient
  • Cheaper, easier technology will become accessible, more widespread.

Probables for Communication and Social Change
  • Use of communications technology will continue to expand exponentially
  • Traditional institutions/frameworks will continue to be questioned - small, responsive, local initiatives in response
  • Ethnic issues will override national boundaries
  • Globalisation will increase - either concentrating power or leading to greater freedom of expression

Trends in Communication

  • Now possible to work in real time with instant feedback
  • Increasingly possible to communicate world-wide without filters of censorship, advertising or institutional control
  • Shift from sending messages to accessing information from the ground-up [from one-to-many to many-to-many]
  • Move to horizontal communication, away from top down hierarchic approach
  • Evolving from delivering a message to 'pushing' or 'pulling' from the bottom up
  • Successful movements have visual elements - flags, symbols, fads, gestures
  • Speed of change is accelerating

STRATEGIC PROPOSALS

  • Use new technology to shift the balance of power - away from governments and corporations - by providing individuals with the ability to communicate directly across boundaries
  • Information processes and messages need a 'target' audience
  • Use 'proactive communications' - support individuals and communities to use information technologies to engage in improving their own circumstances
  • Lobby the traditional institutions that control the media
  • Use vivid, personal images
  • Support people using their own 'voices'
  • The more personal the communications, and the less institutional, the more effective
  • Enable communities by providing them with access to communications technologies to help express their aspirations
  • Promote horizontal communications and dialogues in communities
  • Connect [free] local libraries, schools, village halls, community centers, universities
  • Support a corps of reporters who act as independent eyes, ears and pens of the international community
  • Advocate for the concept and viability of public service broadcasting
Source
'Communications and Social Change: Forging Strategies for the 21st Century' The Rockefeller Foundation, April 1997.

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Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 11/30/1999 - 00:00 Permalink

I believe that it is nessesary to know of foundations like yours, who are willing to help others developing , their comunites to become selfsufficent.angelesey@yahoo.com