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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HIV/AIDS Workplace Programmes

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The Zambia Health Education and Communications Trust (ZHECT) has developed an initiative to work with company management and employees in HIV/AIDS prevention strategies and workplace policy development and dissemination. The project seeks to provide members of Zambia's work force with concrete information and services related to AIDS prevention, as well as to combat stigma and discrimination in the workplace.
Communication Strategies

Programme activities include providing HIV/AIDS education on basic facts and prevention methods, training workplace peer educators (both employees and managers), forming workplace support groups, holding skills-building workshops to provide employees and their spouses with skills necessary to translate knowledge into positive behavioural change, creating linkages for providing antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, treating sexually transmitted infections (STIs), offering voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), and distributing condoms.

In the above activities, interpersonal exchanges are the key approach: The project uses group discussions, one-on-one talks by trained peer educators, condom demonstrations, role play, video shows, and testimonies from people living with HIV/AIDS. Educational talks are given every day on various topics by peer educators. During the sessions, fliers and pamphlets are distributed. Posters in the workplace are another means of communicating HIV/AIDS information. Other activities are carried out in response to identified needs.

Development Issues

HIV/AIDS.

Key Points

ZHECT believes that workplace HIV/AIDS programmes play an important role in mitigating HIV/AIDS impacts on businesses. "The...age group affected by the pandemic are those in reproductive stage (15-49 yrs) and this is the same group that is found in the workplace. Unfortunately, this most affected group is the one that has fewer opportunities to get information on HIV/AIDS because they spend most of their time in the workplace."

Organisers say that addressing employees gives the employer an opportunity to contribute to the welfare of their employees, which makes their business more viable and can help to maximise productivity and profits. HIV/AIDS policies in the workplace help to deal with issues of stigma and discrimination and enhance care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS.

The use of peer educators has, according to ZHECT, proved to be a very effective strategy in communicating behaviour change messages in the workplace because it is done in a manner that is acceptable to the work culture of each organisation.

Partners

ZHECT, Ministry of Health, National AIDS Council, Zambia Business Coalition.

Sources

Email from Florence Mulenga to The Communication Initiative on October 11 2004.