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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Philippine Health Social Science Association - Philippines

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The Philippine Health Social Science Association (PHSSA) is an NGO that works to promote the health of citizens of the Philippines by providing information and advocating ethical and gender-fair health care. The mission of the organisation is to develop health social science as an integrated domain of effective, accessible, and responsive health policy, programmes, and service. It is national in scope, with chapters in the major islands of the archipelago and membership from other NGOs, government agencies, research institutes, and the academe.
Communication Strategies
In all of its activities, PHSSA works to empower citizens through approaches that are sensitive to Filipino culture and responsive to issues such as domestic violence, child abuse, and non-compliance with ethical principles in health research and service delivery. Thus, a major component of its work is to enable holistic and collaborative work in these areas, in part by encouraging partnerships with communities and NGOs. The PHSSA site offers information and links to publications on these issues, as well as a discussion forum. This site is part of the long-term strategy of integrating health social science in the education and training of health professional through curricular reforms.

Specifically, the programme offers:
  • Case studies analysing members' experiences in collaboration with social and health scientists and recommended ways of fostering collaborative and ethical research
  • Scientific meetings to encourage discussion of issues and raise consciousness about health concerns
  • Roundtable discussions in regional centres to formulate regional plans of action for intersectoral work in health
  • Resource base on various fields in health social science work in the country and elsewhere in Asia
  • Publication of research findings and discourses in health social science
  • National Health Social Science Conferences
Development Issues
Health, Rights, Gender.
Key Points
PHSSA began as a small group of social scientists and health professionals based in Metro Manila. Now, PHSSA considers its autonomous local chapters to be the centres of action. Decision-making is consultative and participatory, involving both national and regional groups.
Partners

National Academy for Science and Technology, Department of Health, Philippine Council for Health Research and Development.

Sources

PHSSA site.