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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ECOCINEMA

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ECOCINEMA is a platform of itinerant and free cinema designed to raise awareness amongst people, especially children and youth, of the importance of increasing sustainable access to energy, energy efficiency, and the search for new sources of renewable energy. The mobile cinema is equipped with solar panels that capture the energy that is later used in the evening screening of short films related to the theme: a practical and efficient example of the use of renewable energies. This solar unit travels throughout Latin America and Europe (with evolving plans in Africa and Australia), doing film screenings as well as educational workshops. This is a project of Medio&Medio Films from Uruguay and Solar World Cinema from the Netherlands.

Communication Strategies

This environmental education initiative focuses on the role of children and youth in spreading awareness and in taking responsibility to ensure that their generation and future ones have a decent quality of life in the short and long terms. Organisers believe that cinema is an important tool in transmitting knowledge amongst this generation and others.

 

Each solar unit performs an itinerant tour of educational workshops and free screenings of short films throughout each country. At each function, contents specifically produced for these activities are screened, in addition to the holding of workshops with educators - who interact with the audience, creating participation through games in an effort to increase the impact by re-affirming the sustainability message offered in the audiovisuals.

Development Issues

Environment.

Key Points

On December 20 2010, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly declared the year 2012 as the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All. The aim of this declaration is to fight lack of awareness, which inspired the ECOCINEMA initiative. Organisers believe that efficient energy services have a deep effect on a country's productivity and in fundamental aspects such as health, education, climate change, food and hydro security, and communication services. They say that the lack of access to non-polluting energy that is accessible and trustworthy hampers social and economic development and constitutes an obstacle for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Partners

Medio&Medio Films and Solar World Cinema

Sources

Presentation [PDF] sent from Marianna Oliva to The Communication Initiative on May 26 2013; and emails from Maartje Piersma and Gonzalo Lamela to The Communication Initiative on January 16 2014.