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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Know Your Rights Guide for Journalists in India

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"In India, there are a wide variety of laws which have been used for potentially targeting journalists, including laws which arguably are intended for purposes other than regulation of journalism."

This guide is intended to provide user-friendly, practical guidance for journalists and newsrooms seeking to understand their rights and protections in India. It was developed by the Committee to Protect Journalists, which has been responding to the needs of journalists in India as they confront a range of challenges, from criminal action to online abuse, and learn to navigate an increasingly hostile environment for the press. The guide covers the legal rights journalists have in India and is designed to equip journalists with a working understanding of the remedies and protection measures that are available under Indian law.

Following a brief overview of summarised takeaways for journalists (also available in a separate document, with links below), the guidance for journalists is covered across six chapters:
  • Chapter I: Rights of Journalists - looks at the fundamental concepts of free speech
  • Chapter II: Getting Booked under Law - highlights the different kinds of laws that are used to target journalists with criminal actions
  • Chapter III: Getting the Right Recourse - discusses what steps journalists can take if they face criminal charges in the course of their work
  • Chapter IV: Getting SLAPPed with Suits - looks at what to do when journalists are served notices for legal actions by large corporations and powerful persons, a common tactic used to intimidate journalists, also known as Strategic Legal Action against Public Participation (SLAPP) suits
  • Chapter V: Combatting Online Abuse - sets out learnings from past instances where journalists have faced online abuse and the remedies available in such instances
  • Chapter VI: COVID-19 Reporting - sets out guidelines for reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic based on advisories, guidelines, and orders issued by the Indian central and state governments

Publishers

Publication Date
Languages
English and Hindi
Number of Pages
24 (full guide); 6 (brief overview)
Source
Thomson Reuters Foundation website on June 15 2023. Image caption/credit: Journalists hold candles and placards during a candlelight vigil against police brutalities and attacks on press freedom in Mumbai, India, December 26 2019. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas
PDFLink
Click here for the English version of the full guide in PDF format.
Click here for the Hindi version of the full guide in PDF format.
Click here for the English version of the brief overview in PDF format.
Click here for the Hindi version of the brief overview in PDF format.