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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Kingston Area Youth Foundation

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Kingston Area Youth Foundation, launched to produce one specific theatrical play involving young people of inner city Kingston, has since become an arts, education and inner city community development charitable organisation.
Communication Strategies
The Foundation works to:

1) Establish projects which promote the personal development of urban youth (ages 13-25) through the medium of an arts-based recreational programme

2) Carry out formal and informal outreach activities, to extend the impact into the wider community

3) Support the formal education and skills training of participants through scholarships, etc.

4) Produce, promote and present creative endeavors of participants

5) Produce, promote and disseminate audio and video recordings of theatrical and other productions created by participants

6) Act as agents for the youth participants who are contracted to perform, stage manage and/or provide technical and any other services related to theatrical or other productions.
Development Issues
Education, Youth.
Key Points
Through their own initiative, members have formed their own club to keep the group going. They started their own newspaper and assisted in fund raising by holding a walkathon. Originating in violently hostile communities, now, in their own words: "We are ONE, and nobody can ever divide us again."
Partners

Launched in 1997 by The Company Limited in association with the University of the West Indies, Emory University (Atlanta) and CVM TV. Technical support is now being supplied by UNESCO as an "intersectoral venture."

Sources

Letter from Jocelyne Josiah to The Communication Initiative in 1999.

Comments

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Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 03/04/2008 - 06:39 Permalink

Area Youth Foundation contact is NOT UNESCO - Jamaica Office. Please update your website.

Editor's note: The UNESCO-Jamaica office is the only contact we have for further information about the Area Youth Foundation. If you have additional information, please send it through to info@comminit.com Thank you!

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Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 05/31/2011 - 20:39 Permalink

I love the aim of this organization just what Jamaica needs and that is the re-education of our youths