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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Election 2002 Coverage

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The Search for Common Ground - Sierra Leone (SFCG-SL), in conjunction with the European Centre for Common Ground (ECCG), conducted a programme to ensure that the results of the May 14, 2002 Presidential and Parliamentary elections would be shared with the public in Sierra Leone (which lacks a communications infrastructure). Namely, SFCG-SL engaged in coalition-building in the form of an Independent Radio Network (IRN) and a network of youth monitors who worked to make the elections process transparent to citizens.
Communication Strategies

In light of the fact that neither the government nor the UNAMSIL Public Information Unit had put in place a cohesive, coordinated strategy to communicate polling results, SFCG-SL convened a meeting with FM radio station managers. This group developed the IRN, which linked four FM stations (two in Freetown, one in Mile 91, and one in Bo) to provide independent broadcast coverage of voting day. The network was able to reach most of Sierra Leone, bringing them updates throughout the day. SFCG-SL held two workshops to prepare the reporters for the election day work. On May 14, a news desk was established at Talking Drum Studio (TDS-SL). Based on reports by the partner stations, TDS-SL prepared summaries to be played on the four stations at noon and another at the closing of the polls. The IRN reported on individual polling station vote counts, aggregated some results, and analysed regional trends.


SFCG-SL also mobilised a youth network consisting of young people aged 16 to 35 from various parts of the country to ensure that some of the most marginalised people in Sierra Leone were able to register. They also reported on the level of violence throughout the electoral process and helped with voter education.

Development Issues

Political Development, Conflict, Youth.

Key Points

These elections were the first held since the end of the civil war between rebel and government forces in Sierra Leone, which killed thousands. Broadcasting of voting results is a challenge in this country, as roads are decrepit and large areas of the country are out of touch with Freetown and the National Election Commission (NEC).


The IRN plans to continue to work together post-elections. It is developing a Parliamentary Radio Program that will work to strengthen the link between Members of Parliament and their constituencies and educate people on the purpose of Parliement in Sierra Leone. The youth network also plans to continue to work on advocacy and sensitisation for various issues in Sierra Leone. SFCG-SL is studying the poverty reduction strategy that the government of Sierra Leone wants to put in place; the youth network may participate in this project.

Partners

ECCG, SFCG-SL, TDS-SL, IRN.

Sources

Election 2002 page on the ECCG site.