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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Project V's Bird Flu Reporting Initiative

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Project V is a United Kingdom (UK)-based initiative centring around an audio website through which students aged 9-15 broadcast and listen to their own radio programmes. As part of this project, children and youth from one school carried out interviews with their peers and experts, and conducted other types of research, to produce an audio programme to raise awareness about the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus.
Communication Strategies

This project draws on information and communication technologies (ICTs) to educate and engage students in a participatory media project: "As soon as we know that a pandemic is starting, then we will tell people via news reports..." Visitors to the Bird Flu page on the Project V website may listen to a radio programme (available as an MP3
file) produced by the group of students.

As part of this programme, the students identified bird flu as an issue of importance to them, and then carried out interviews - first with their peers (to assess whether they are concerned about a possible UK outbreak among humans), and then with a number of experts to understand the causes, preventative strategies (e.g., vaccination), modes of transmission (animal-to-animal, animal-to-human, and human-to-human), symptoms, and treatment options. For example, they speak with Joanna Ellis, a virologist with the Health Protection Agency, Dr Alan Hay, Director World Influenza Center, and a general practitioner. Click here to listen.

Development Issues

Health, Natural Resource Management.

Key Points

Created by 2 UK-based organisations (YourVoices and Dream Mill), Project V is designed to be an interactive learning experience that provides a platform for young citizens' voices to learn about - and to lend their voices on - a variety of social and developmental issues, including health issues. It is also designed to be a tool for teachers, parents, politicians, and policymakers to listen to the issues children care about.

Partners

YourVoices and Dream Mill. The project was funded by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA).

Sources

Bird Flu page on the Project V website.

Teaser Image
http://www.projectv.fm/images/photos/bird-flu.jpg