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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Child to Child Project - South Africa

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Initiated by the South African NGO Zanempilo Trust, this programme trains children (ages 7 to 14) in the South African regions of Town 2, Brown's Farm, and Samora Machel to become peer educators on basic primary health care. A radio broadcast is a central strategy.
Communication Strategies

200 children participate regularly in the initiative to train peer educators. The project is supported by a radio broadcast each Saturday morning, as well as with networks with Childline and the Children's Resource Centre (CRC).

Development Issues

Children, Health.

Key Points

Childline offers a 24 hour toll-free Helpline with trained counsellors to assist abused children, young people and their families. The CRC was started in 1983 to help children to organise themselves into a Children's Movement. Today the CRC has more than 50 children's groups throughout South Africa with a membership of more than 5000 children between the age of 7 and 14 years.

Funded by the European Union and the Provincial Administration of the Western Cape (PAWC), Zanempilo is a South African NGO that delivers holistic primary health care services to disadvantaged peri-urban and rural communities in the Western Cape.

Partners

Zanempilo Trust, Childline, and the CRC.

Sources

Zanempilo website.