Development action with informed and engaged societies

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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Plan Brazil's Child Nutrition Project

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Plan Brazil works in Northeast Brazil in 5 core areas: promoting rights; early childhood health; learning; community participation; and sustainable livelihoods. Their project on nutrition teaches mothers, childcare workers, and health clinic staff from villages with low birth weight infants and children how to make nutritional supplements from available foods. Also, it addresses the low availability of nursery care and education through promoting early childhood development and helping local institutions offer greater access to nursery care.



Communication Strategies

Work on malnutrition, low access to clean drinking water, and sanitation is done through giving parents information and support to provide their children with nutrition and care, providing families with the tools to increase their income to feed their children, and helping families access clean water and improve sanitation. (See the Plan Brazil segment of the video below.) For example, through participator demonstrations at community and early child development centres, rural women are shown how to make a vitamin-based drink from food they can harvest locally - orange peel, carrots, soy products, lime, papaya, etc., showing them how to make what children need from their own resources.

 

Plan works with communities, intending to put them in charge of their own development, by assisting people in decision-making which directly affects their lives and helping local charities and community groups protect children’s rights. For example, Plan brings together a group of Babaçu palm nut breakers - indigenous and Afro Brazilian women - to discuss health and education and share practical information on ways they can make an income.

Development Issues

Nutrition, Children, Education

Key Points

In addition to working on nutrition, early childhood education, and women's economic development, Plan Brazil works on child protection from societal violence and exploitation through child rights promotion including birth registration. In 2011, Plan concluded a survey on school bullying in Brazil, involving 5,000 pupils from across the country. The results are being used to make schools in the region safer and ensure they become more stimulating learning environments. Plan also addresses sexual and reproductive health for mothers and addresses the health of adolescents, with emphasis on the prevention of HIV and AIDS.

 

Partners

Video produced with the support of the Bernard van Leer Foundation

Sources