Development action with informed and engaged societies

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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Girl Hub Programme

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The Girl Hub initiative is working to improve girls' lives in Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Nigeria through advances in education, health, safety, and economic opportunity. By providing safe spaces, engaging with leaders, and producing communication and media designed to motivate empowerment, Girl Hub is designed to "shift the social norms that hold girls back, and drive better investments that directly benefit girls." Girl Hub is a strategic collaboration between the Department for International Development and the Nike Foundation.
Communication Strategies

The overall Girl Hub strategy focuses on "unlocking insights", working with girls to identify their needs and how they can be supported in their own personal and community development. Work is concentrated in four major areas:

  • "Advocacy: Bringing girls' voices to the forefront and involving them in the design and implementation of policies
  • Brand and Communication: Developing social communications to inspire and engage girls' lives
  • Partnerships and Policy: Informing and influencing decision makers to invest overseas aid and development budgets in effective policies and programmes that benefit girls
  • Insights and Knowledge: Creating robust data and evidence to track the impact of our work for girls."

The project is being implemented in Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Nigeria and each country is tailoring the approach to the local context:

Ni Nyampinga (Rwanda)
Launched in November 2011, Ni Nyampinga is Girl Hub Rwanda's teen brand. In Kinyarwanda, Ni Nyampinga means "the beautiful girl - inside and out - who makes good decisions", and was chosen to define successful girls as doers and leaders of their community. Ni Nyampinga includes a quarterly magazine, a weekly radio show, and a digital platform that delivers critical tools and information to girls throughout Rwanda. Each platform allows girls and young women to share their own experiences so that they can learn from each other. Click here for more information about Ni Nyampinga on the Girl Hub Rwanda website.

Yegna (Ethiopia)
Yegna (meaning "Ours" in Amharic) is Girl Hub Ethiopia's flagship radio drama, talk show, and music platform designed to champion girls and create a national conversation about their potential. The radio drama and talk show address issues such as violence against girls, forced marriage, teenage pregnancy, and school attendance. To do this, it uses female and male role models to help shift attitudes and behaviours towards girls. The music is used to drive listeners to the radio drama and talk show. Every song aims to inspire girls and the lyrics promote the potential of girls. Click here for more information about Yegna on the Girl Hub Ethiopia website.

Girl Hub Nigeria
In Nigeria, Girl Hub is working in the northern region to empower girls through social, health, and economic assets and to create the right environment to enable them to make a healthy transition into adulthood. This includes helping to create safe spaces to empower young women, working with faith and community leaders and galvanising private sector investment. Click here for more information about Girl Hub Nigeria.

Development Issues

Gender Empowerment

Key Points

Girl Hub is part of the Girl Effect movement, which is "about leveraging the unique potential of adolescent girls to end poverty for themselves, their families, their communities, their countries and the world. It's about making girls visible and changing their social and economic dynamics by providing them with specific, powerful and relevant resources. Created by the Nike Foundation in collaboration with the NoVo Foundation, United Nations Foundation and Coalition for Adolescent Girls, the Girl Effect is fuelled by hundreds of thousands of girl champions who recognise the untapped potential of adolescent girls living in poverty."

Partners

Department for International Development, Nike Foundation