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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Changing Perceptions of HIV/AIDS in Vietnam

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The Center for Community Health Research and Development (CCRD) and the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology (VME), Hanoi, Vietnam, in collaboration with Columbia University, New York, United States (US), organised a museum exhibition in Vietnam on HIV/AIDS through creative paintings, sculptures, photographs, digital media, and interactive performance. The purpose of the exhibition was to generate public discussion and debate and reduce stigma against people with HIV/AIDS. The exhibition has become a long-term installation at the VME.

Communication Strategies

Displaying personal belongings, artefacts, pictures, and memories donated by individuals living with HIV/AIDS, the exhibition depicted the lives of infected people and their families and traced changing perceptions about the epidemic over time. According to the exhibit organisers,  HIV/AIDS was once considered a social evil in Vietnam, and media depicted HIV-infected people with negative images. The perception has gradually changed through public dissemination of accurate information by the government and international organisations.

 

The exhibition shows how the epidemic has altered the social life of Vietnamese society in many ways over the past 20 years. Through the exhibition, people living with HIV/AIDS and those engaged in HIV/AIDS research, advocacy, and prevention efforts met and shared their experiences. On March 1 2010, the website of the Project Vietnam HIV/AIDS exhibition was established to provide the visitors with the detailed information of the exhibition and to call for the community’s involvement through their donations including ideas, artefacts, pictures, and memories to the HIV exhibition. Aimed at bringing the exhibition closer to the general population, especially people far away from Hanoi, the website is filled with photos, artefacts, and stories collected from the fieldtrips in Hai Phong, Dien Bien, and Ho Chi Minh City. In addition, there is a forum on the website for members to discuss and share ideas and knowledge.

Development Issues

HIV/AIDS.

Key Points

According to CCRD: "Since the early 1990s, when the virus was first reported in Vietnam, the epidemic has increased rapidly throughout the country and has indelibly influenced all levels of Vietnamese society – from the lives of individuals infected with HIV and their families to the policy and programmatic efforts of a diverse array of government bodies, international agencies, and local community organizations.  Given its unique epidemiological characteristics and social and economic features, HIV/AIDS is one of the few epidemics in the recent history of Vietnam that holds such social significance for this country."

Partners

The Center for Community Health Research and Development (CCRD) and the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology (VME), in collaboration with Columbia University.

Sources

Email from Huyen Trn Dieu to The Communication Initiative on January 30 2012, and the Center for Community Health Research and Development website on January 31 2012.