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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No More Malaria: Village Drama Outreaches, Podcasting, and Programming Project

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During World Malaria Month 2013, Peace Corps volunteers in Uganda implemented the Village Drama Outreaches, Podcasting, and Programming Project to provide people in the West Nile region with information about malaria prevention and control. Over the course of the month, the project included training for radio presenters on producing malaria programming, community drama performances, production of a radio toolkit, and community and school-based discussions. The project was led and implemented by Peace Corps volunteers (PCVs) with support from the PC Small Project Assistance (SPA) fund, in partnership with Radio Pacis, as part of the ongoing Stomping Out Malaria programme.
Communication Strategies

As part of the radio component of the project, Peace Corp Uganda volunteer, Chelsea Milko, provided training to radio presenters at Radio Pacis, a local radio station in the focus community. The training focused on building the capacity of journalists, production assistants, and presenters to produce programming with malaria behaviour change messaging. As a result, the station broadcast 15 news stories, 5 special features, and 3 talk shows, which reached approximately 10 million listeners across Northern Uganda, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A live drama was performed in communities in the rural West Nile villages of Aripea, Kuluba, Baracala, and Logiri, reaching 1,500 Ugandans. The drama, performed in the Lugbara language, was designed to use edutainment to provoke dialogue and reflection about malaria prevention and care. In addition to these performances, the "No More Malaria" drama script was translated into 3 local languages and performed by village health teams, school-age youth, and drama teams at World Malaria Month events organised by PCVs around Uganda.

Along with the drama, the community events included malaria bed net repair races and malaria quiz games. English and Lugbara malaria signage posted around the venue spaces also reinforced the malaria messages. At each of these events, the community also elected a community ambassador from their Village Health Team, who was tasked to carry out continual community sensitisation. Each ambassador received a booklet and visual aids.

An English-language podcast version of the drama was produced and distributed along with a radio broadcasting toolkit. These were distributed to PCVs for broadcast on radio stations and in communities and schools.

Development Issues

Malaria

Key Points

The project is part of the ongoing Stomping Out Malaria in Africa programme. According to the programme website for Uganda, "in 2013, 44 PCVs participated in 72 malaria projects, reaching nearly 240,000 people in 83 communities." Activities include assisting with universal coverage campaigns, distributing bed nets, conducting home visits, and reaching out to schools and communities. Stomping Out Malaria is led by the Peace Corps in partnership with National Malaria Control Programs in the countries where they work, and in collaboration with the President's Malaria Initiative and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Sources

Snapshot: No More Malaria: Village Drama Outreaches, Podcasting, and Programming Project [PDF], Peace Corps website, and Stomp Out Malaria website on April 15 2014 and emails from Chelsea Milko and Kristina Sandfoss to Soul Beat Africa on April 16 2014.