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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Bangladesh WASH Radio Campaign

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Created by the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC)-Bangladesh Coalition and broadcast on the national radio network Bangladesh Betar, this radio campaign shared information about water supply, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) issues with a specific focus on reaching out to underserved and marginalised groups. Conducted from November 2009 to April 2010, the goal of the Bangladesh WASH Radio Campaign was to advance local participation in WASH activities in order to achieve total sanitation coverage by 2013.

Communication Strategies

On air every Thursday evening for 15 minutes, the programme focused on: raising awareness about sanitation, hygiene behaviour, and waterborne diseases; sensitising Bangladeshis to Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approaches; and enhancing dissemination of WASH information across the country. Programming of the campaign was varied. For example, programmes included WASH news, interviews, theme songs, jingles, and dramatisations of real-life issues about a range of topics like sanitation problems in urban and rural areas, the importance of personal hygiene for well-being, government allocations to achieve total sanitation, and empowering individuals to start community initiatives.

 

This participatory, grassroots approach was a central theme of the campaign, and the radio programme particularly showcased the stories of ordinary people and their communities. Participation was built into the programming as well: listeners were encouraged to participate via a quiz game at the end of every episode.

Development Issues

Water, sanitation, and hygiene.

Key Points

According to WSSCC, people sent hundreds of letters with positive feedback to the radio station during the course of the broadcasts.

Sources

WSSCC website, February 24 2012; and email from Saskia Castelein to The Communication Initiative on March 2 2012.