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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Local Advocacy Project - The Philippines

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The Philippine NGO Council on Population, Health and Welfare, Inc. (PNGOC) implemented a project to address the problems of limited financial resources and programme sustainability plaguing population/family planning (FP)/reproductive health (RH) programmes in the country. Specifically, the Local Advocacy Project (LAP) aims to solicit political and popular support at the local level in the form of passage of local initiatives allocating resources for population/RH programmes through advocacy work.
Communication Strategies
LAP I will take place in three pilot areas: Balingasag, Misamis Oriental; Tanjay, Negros Oriental; and Sorsogon, Bicol Region. Resolutions will be adopted to allocate resources for the population programme in the three target municipalities.

Specifically, in Balingasag, billboards were developed that are now installed in strategic locations in the Poblacion area. In Tanjay, the theatrical group "Balitaw sa RH" was formed to act as a medium to help increase awareness and build support for RH at the barangay level. And in Sorsogon, "Hatod Kapatiran", a mobile clinic initiated by the LGU and local NGOs providing FP/RH information and services to the barangays, was implemented.

LAP II will take place in seven project areas: Misamis Oriental - Balingasag, Salay & Villanueva; Negros Oriental - Tanjay & Manjuyod; Bicol Region: Sorsogon and Malinao.

An NGO Coalition to complement the Municipal Advocacy Teams (MAT) in each area was formed and a workshop was conducted to design a local advocacy plan for each area.
Key Points
Factors such as the withdrawal of financial support from international donor agencies and discontinuation of basic health services to the local government unit (LGU) form the context that motivated the formation of LAP.
Partners

Commission on Population (POPCOM), Philippine Legislators' Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD), and PNGOC, supported by USAID thru The Futures Group (TFG).

Sources

NFE A&E site