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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The Indian Heritage Cities Network and e-Heritage

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The  e-Heritage Project: Digitally Enhancing India’s Heritage, launched in 2013, works to highlight cities of India as "living cultural resources". The network provides a platform for sharing experience and expertise for the sustainable socioeconomic and cultural development of India’s historic cities. It works to: "foster the safeguarding and sustainable use of the unique and diverse urban cultural heritage of India; promote the physical, natural and cultural heritage, traditions, crafts and creativity as driving forces for urban development, and the generation of employment for balanced socioeconomic and cultural development." It is a partnership of the Indian Heritage Cities Network (IHCN), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the Digital Empowerment Foundation.

Communication Strategies

The e-Heritage project builds capacity to empower cities, particularly the municipal authorities and local communities, to create a digital presence of their heritage, culture, traditions, sacred spaces, and historical sites so that they are featured online. The launch included four demonstration websites developed for: Pune, Shekawati, Old Delhi, and Chanderi. The objectives of e-Heritage include:

  • "Build capacity of municipalities and districts to document heritage in their territory and build their own websites.
  • Educate and involve local communities in the preservation of heritage sites both physically and virtually.
  • Utilize the internet as an information platform for public education about Indian heritage."

These websites can include sections about: the city location; images and text on heritage places and objects included in archives, libraries, and private collections; text with cultural and anthropological information; and information on how to engage with the heritage site.

 

The project launched "e-Heritage Fellowship" to train local youth, focusing on "imparting the notion of heritage, methodology of documentation and presentation of heritage data as well as the basic IT [information technology] skill to upload data."

 

The project's heritage preservation is extended to arts, crafts, and livelihood preservation through marketing sites such as Chanderiyaan, an e-commerce portal to showcase Chanderi weaving in District Ashok Nagar of Madhya Pradesh in Central India through a gallery of products and stories of the weavers. It is managed by the weavers themselves through self-help groups.

 

Digital Empowerment Foundation is also launching a mobile application for the e-Heritage project called "M-Shahjahanabad". The application is being launched for Old Delhi. It would allow users to navigate through the streets and lanes of Shahjahanabad. Users will also be able to upload their own content and comments. This mobile application is available for android phones only (as of May 2014) and can be downloaded free of cost.

Development Issues

Economic Development

Key Points

The IHCN was founded as a programme by UNESCO New Delhi Office with the endorsement of the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India. It comprises (in 2014) 25 Indian member cities, seven French cities and regional partners, several university and institutional members, and a number of non-governmental organisation (NGO) partners.


Partners

The Indian Heritage Cities Network (IHCN), The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Digital Empowerment Foundation, Chanderi Weavers Resource Integrated Information Resource Centre, Media Lab Asia, India's Department of Iinformation Technology and Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT)

Sources

IHCN website and the Digital Empowerment Foundation website, May 16 2014.