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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Strategic Communication in Development

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Event/Training Summary

This course will provide participants with the foundations in contemporary mass communication theories and concepts alluding to effective planning and designing of communication material employed in development practice.

The course explores various communication theories, models, and case studies and engages participants in team projects related to communication for social change. It will prepare participants to understand the art and science of effective communication, and provide a comprehensive view to the research-based process of implementing communication strategies.

Participants will be able to identify the role of communication in realizing development projects, establish goals to support projects, understand the importance of formative research and the use or research in communication planning, execute the appropriate steps to communicative strategies based on the needs of the target population, write technical proposals, and incorporate theoretical principles from the social sciences, humanities, and marketing fields to plan and execute development goals.

The course is comprised of three modules:

  1. Introduction to behavior change theories and communication for social change
  2. Planning and implementation of strategic communication
  3. Completion of an applied research project.
Registration Information

Please click here for more information about program registration.

Registration information can be obtained by contacting Rafael Obregon, Ph.D.

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