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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Impact Data - Family Planning II Project - Egypt

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Date

This programme aimed to:

  • increase the acceptability of family planning, with special emphasis on religious acceptability;
  • increase spousal communication on family planning;
  • reduce gender preference;
  • reduce practice of early marriage;
  • promote male responsibility;
  • dispel rumors and misinformation regarding contraceptives; and
  • provide precise information regarding contraceptives.
Knowledge Shifts
Long after the television spots had been run, 34% of the respondents said that they remembered them and said that they were most helpful in their family planning.
Practices
57% of the viewers said that they intended to visit a clinic, an increase from the non-viewers (37%). Contraceptive prevalence was raised between 1988 and 1992, where millions of people, both women and men sought information about contraceptives and family planning. The contraceptive prevalence was raised from 37.8% to 47.1%.
Attitudes
86.5% of viewers thought that a woman who uses contraceptives is “good”, much higher than the non-viewers who responded 61.9% in favour of the comment.
Increased Discussion of Development Issues
50% of those who watched the drama discussed it with others, 27% talked to friends or neighbours, 20% talked to their spouses.
Access
About 66% of the population was exposed to the television drama "And the Nile Flows On". 90% of these viewers responded that the content was easy to understand. 62% saw family planning as the central theme.
Source
"The Use of Mainstream Media to Encourage Social Responsibility: The International Experience - Inventory of Projects." Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation by Advocates for Youth, pages 41-43.