Development action with informed and engaged societies

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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Pacific Media Centre (PMC)

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Founded in 2007, the Pacific Media Centre (PMC) at New Zealand's Auckland University of Technology (AUT) University seeks to stimulate research into contemporary Maori, Pasifika, and ethnic diversity media and community development in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Communication Strategies

PMC's strategic focus stems from the belief that robust and informed journalism and media research contributes to economic, political, and social development in the region. Activities include:

  • undertaking and stimulating research into contemporary Maori, Pasifika, Asia-Pacific, and ethnic diversity media and culture production;
  • strengthening research capability in the area of media production;
  • presenting and publishing the findings of media research;
  • developing collaborations and relationships with other Asia-Pacific centres of research excellence in media and cultural production; and
  • developing editorial and publication capability, including Pacific Journalism Review, PMC Online, and Pacific Scoop (see below for more details on the latter).


Sample past and ongoing projects (additional details are available on the PMC website) include:

  • PMC awarded a "journalist-in-residence" research grant to independent filmmaker Jim Marbrook to help develop a documentary about indigenous Kanak political and industrial rights and nickel mining development in New Caledonia. Marbrook, who is also a television lecturer in AUT University's School of Communication Studies, produced an 8-minute pilot video, Towards Grand Terre, as a first step in the project and is working to a full documentary feature, Cap Bocage.
  • Through PMC, photojournalist John Miller (Ngapuhi) began embarking on a journalist-in-residence project in August 2007 researching the Ngatihine forestry block development in mid-Northland in the 1970s in the context of a confrontation about the use of Maori land. He has presented this research as a case study, with a focus on the way in which mainstream and alternative forms of media represented the issue.
  • Pacific Scoop is an independent regional "hub" partnership venture between AUT University's Pacific Media Centre and the independent news portal Scoop Media Ltd. The website is based in the School of Communication Studies, where postgraduate Pacific student journalists and other media students with an interest in Pasifika affairs - especially those on the Asia-Pacific Journalism and Graduate Diploma in Pacific Journalism courses - are filing regular stories.
  • Pacific Media Watch is an Asia-Pacific media monitoring digital repository collected and published by postgraduate students and staff at PMC and also by contributing journalists.


Click here to access PMC's media development and development communication publications. Click here to read about Asia-Pacific and Graduate Diploma in Pacific Journalism courses.

Development Issues

Media Development.

Sources

Emails from David Robie to The Communication Initiative on January 20 2011 and February 1 2011; and PMC website, January 31 2011. Image credit: Marilyn Waring

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