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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SEED Awards

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The SEED Awards is an annual international competition designed to support locally led, innovative, enterprises in developing countries, which have the potential to make real improvements in poverty eradication and environmental sustainability.

The SEED goal is to inspire, promote, and build capacity to support the many innovative ways in which diverse groups are working together to: improve incomes and strengthen livelihoods; tackle poverty and marginalisation; and manage and conserve natural resources and ecosystems.

The SEED Awards are open to innovative start-up enterprises that aim to generate environmental, social, and economic benefits at the local level in a country with a developing or emerging economy. Click here to view eligibility criteria (click on each item in the list for further information.)

SEED Awards available:

  • Switch Africa Green (SAG)-SEED Awards 2016 (15 awards) for social and environmental start-up entreprises located in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa, or Uganda
  • SEED Africa Awards 2016 (4 awards) for applicants in Malawi, Mozambique, or Namibia
  • SEED Gender Equality Award 2016 (1 award) to be awarded to a social and environmental entreprise located in Kenya that is run or owned by a woman or women or that prioritises women's empowerment

Each winner receives a customised support package consisting of tools, capacity building, profiling, network building, and financing, all tailored to their individual needs. From September 28-29 2016, the 2016 SEED Winners will be profiled at the SEED Africa Symposium in Nairobi, Kenya.

SEED is a global partnership for action on sustainable development and the green economy that was founded by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Application Info

Click here for more information and to apply online. Or you can download an application form and email it to seedawards2016@seed.uno If you are unable to submit your application electronically, please contact SEED by email or phone (+49 30 89 00 068 99).

Date
Previous Winners

Click here to view previous winners by year.

Source

SEED website, February 5 2015 and February 5 2016; and emails from Carolin Ehrensperger to The Communication Initiative on February 5 2016 and March 21 2016.