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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Pro-vax: Supporting Vaccines through Activism, Petitions, and Trials

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With Pro-vax, Samantha Vanderslott opens a whole new avenue of research. This thought-provoking book will be a landmark for years to come as the research community moves towards a richer understanding of contemporary debates surrounding vaccination.
(Dr Jeremy Ward, Chargé de Recherche, INSERM)

Vanderslott’s book, Pro-vax, sheds light on the important dimension of positive activism around vaccination, which is against the tide of a challenging environment that she also considers in her thoughtful, well-written book.
(Professor Heidi Larson, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, LSHTM)

This book tackles a distinction we have taken for granted for too long: that between anti-vaccine and pro-vaccine attitudes. Building on her longstanding expertise in the history and politics of vaccination, Samantha Vanderslott provides a compelling account of pro-vaccine movements. By shifting our attention to those who express public support for vaccination, and away from those who do not, this book represents a unique intervention in both scholarly and political discourse. With its use of historical sources, images, and accessible language, the book will be invaluable for scholars of vaccination and vaccine advocates alike.
(Assistant Professor Katharina T. Paul, Department of Political Science, University of Vienna)

Vaccination is both a social activity on a grand scale and an experience that is very personal and individual. Add to the mix the understanding of vaccination in culture, the media, and others around us in society, and attitudes to vaccination become complex. For a long time, the concentration has been on attitudes to vaccination by those who are in opposition (the «anti-vax»), neglecting the majority who are supportive. This book aims to reconsider vaccination as a phenomenon from the perspective of those who are «pro-vax», who actively support and vocally promote vaccines. Using contemporary and historical examples, the book explores public support of vaccination, focusing on civil society in action through activism, petitions, and trials.