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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Lin Lat Kyair Sin (Bright Young Stars)

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"The aim... of our media development work is to create platforms that can reach audiences across both rural and urban Burma, providing them with information on governance issues and creating spaces for diverse voices to be heard."

This BBC Media Action youth-led radio project in Burma/Myanmar is designed to ensure that young citizens are informed and engaged in opportunities for discussion and participation. The youth radio programme, Lin Lat Kyair Sin - LLKS (Bright Young Stars), begun in 2012, aims to "engage, inspire and promote discussion among Burma’s young citizens and leaders."

Communication Strategies

By building the capacity of the local media organisations in Burma/Myanmar, including the state broadcaster MRTV, to "produce news and current affairs programming which inform citizens about governance issues and create platforms where their voices are heard", BBC Media Action has developed a production team of 18-35 year-olds to better address and engage the programme's youth audience. Skill building with young journalists includes training those with a background in print journalism on reporting for radio and recording and editing a "sound-rich" radio feature. "Through face-to-face training and its online iLearn course, BBC Media Action is training Burma’s next - some say, first - generation of broadcast journalists from the private sector."

 

The topics covered by the radio show are those of concern to young adults, including issues formerly considered taboo in Burma - for example, in the "Society" series: drinking alcohol, foreign influences, relationships, women’s equality, and role models. They are topics identified by Burmese youth journalists and their peers within the country and the Burmese community on the Thai border.

 

The radio project also aims to get information to ethnic minorities and hard-to-reach communities in order to "inspire listeners to learn about their rights, their role in their community and their country and encourage them to discuss issues online and in weekly listening groups....Working with local partners, LLKS listening groups take place in some of the most remote areas of the country so young people from all backgrounds can listen and discuss the issues raised by the show."

Development Issues

Youth, Democracy and Governance, Rights

Key Points

The video below is an interview with Yan Htaik Seng, an LLKS radio producer.