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

Time to read
1 minute
Print
a- a+
Published 14 years ago
Last updated 1 year ago
Read so far

Endangered Species Condom Project

0 comments

From the United States (US)-based Center for Biological Diversity, this initiative seeks to combat overpopulation by connecting condom use with efforts to save the planet. The condoms are accompanied by literature featuring what are intended to be catchy taglines, drawings, and a short paragraph about species extinction and human population, helping people make the connection that wearing a condom does more than protect against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and pregnancy - the message is that having safe sex helps to protect our planet, too.

Communication Strategies

As part of this initiative, volunteers sign up to distribute free condoms in 6 different packages featuring endangered species threatened by human overpopulation - and to help educate people across the country about what overpopulation does to species that do not have the privilege of over-reproducing (or even reproducing enough to survive). The Endangered Species Condom Project website features various condom packages and ringtones for mobile phones that link condom use with species conservation in the form of rhyming slogans like "wear a condom now...save the spotted owl" or "wrap with care...save the polar bear". This website also features links to a telephone hotline, map of volunteer condom distributors, a fact sheet, and e-newsletter.

Development Issues

Population, Environment, Natural Resource Management.

Key Points

"The mission of the Center for Biological Diversity is to stop the planetary extinction crisis wiping out rare plants and animals around the world. Explosive, unsustainable human population growth is an essential root cause of this crisis." Visit this page on the Endangered Species Condom Project website to read about the role that overpopulation plays in species extinction.

 

Through this initiative, the Center has distributed nearly half a million free condoms through thousands of volunteers in every state in the US, most recently to mark the day that the world population grew to 7 billion. To find out more, visit the 7 Billion and Counting website.

Sources

Email from Population Media Center to The Communication Initiative, October 12 2010; Endangered Species Condom Project website, January 25 2012; and email from Amy Harwood to The Communication Initiative on May 9 2012. Design by Lori Lieber. Artwork by Roger Peet. © 2012