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.
 
Co-founder Victoria Martin is pleased to see this work continue under Wits' leadership. Victoria knows that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction.
 
We honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades. Meanwhile, La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA) continues independently at cila.comminitcila.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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Make Your Voice Heard - Yemen

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In October of 2011, Resonate! Yemen and House of Light, in cooperation with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, conducted a 4-day youth training on strengthening participatory democracy in Yemen. The overall goal of the project was to enable Yemeni youth to continue playing an active and positive role in shaping the political landscape of Yemen. The objectives of the project were:

a) Strengthening the Yemeni youth leaders’ understanding of the field of participatory democracy and equipping them with the skill sets they need to launch advocacy, lobbying, and grassroots campaigns.

b) Working with party leaders in Yemen to build a roadmap that more genuinely integrates youth in the political process in Yemen.

Communication Strategies

To achieve these objectives, Resonate! organised a 4-day workshop in Sana’a, from October 29 to November 1 2011, with 50 youth participants selected from the cities of Aden, Hadhramout, Hudeidah, Sana’a, and Taiz.

 

The first day of the workshop was dedicated to exploring the basics of politics and democracy. On the second day, participants learned how to plan and execute advocacy campaigns. The third day focused on online tools of advocacy and gave the participants an opportunity to form teams and design their own advocacy campaign on combating Qat (a traditional stimulant used as a "recreational narcotic") in Yemen. The fourth and final day was dedicated to a round table discussion with political party representatives to discuss the topic of youth political inclusion in the post-revolution period, followed by small group discussions to formalise recommendations for strengthening youth political inclusion.

Development Issues

Youth, Rights, Democracy abnd Governance

Key Points

Resonate! Yemen works on advancing the cause of participative democracy in Yemen through bringing the voices and ideas of young Yemenis (aged 18 to 35) to Yemen's public policy discourse and through supporting youth action on issues of local and national significance.

Partners

Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and Canada Fund for Local Initiatives

Sources

Resonate! Yemen website, December 9 2012.