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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Participatory Learning and Action: Ethiopia project shows how a participatory process with youth can help shape national policy

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Affiliation
YouthNet - Family Health International
Summary

According to this 4-page research brief, the Ethiopian Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture was able to mobilise a coalition of young people committed to improving HIV/AIDS and sexual health conditions in their country as a result of using a youth-based participatory process.


From the Introduction

"To begin planning its program, the new Ethiopian Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture turned to an approach called participatory learning and action, or PLA. Officials involved young people throughout the country in a learning and planning process for the Ministry. The youth developed a national youth charter and a three-year action plan to mobilize youth for improved sexual health and HIV/AIDS preventive behavior. Plus, the process led to the creation of a dynamic network of young people committed to the health and future of the country.


The participatory process involved in-depth training for 51 youth leaders, selected through national criteria by regional HIV/AIDS Prevention andControl Offices and Youth Bureaus. The decentralization of the Ethiopian government allowed for the identification of youth facilitators from alleleven regions of Ethiopia, rather than just the capital city. The youth leaders then worked with more than 800 other youth, conducting participatoryassessments among youth and adult stakeholders in both rural and urban settings around the country. The youth analyzed the data, led workshops, validated findings from assessments, and synthesized the resulting information into the proposed charter and action plan. The training involved in-depth group work where the young people learned to trust each other and speak openly about issues of sexuality and HIV infection.


'[Before the training,] I was totally afraid and ashamed to talk about sex in my prevention activities,' said a 20-year-old man who works with youth on HIV prevention. “Now I understand how important it is to take this information seriously and share with others what I have learned. I don't know how I have been doing HIV prevention without being able to discuss openly sexual practices and the risks they entail.'"


Click here to download this research brief in PDF format [63 KB].

Source

YouthLens