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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The Place Where We Live Is Called the Red Light Area

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SummaryText
To bring the stories of children of women in prostitution to the fore, and to understand the feelings and thoughts of these children on topics such as violence, abuse, prostitution, stigma, trafficking, and HIV/AIDS, Apne Aap Women Worldwide, an initiative to end sex-trafficking, has published a book called “The Place Where We Live Is Called the Red Light Area.” This book is the outcome of an advocacy project started by the organisation in the "red light" areas of Sonagachhi and Kalighat, India.

The book encapsulates these children’s stories and drawings through art and literature. According to Apne Aap, it is an attempt to capture the feelings of the children who have gone through many psychological and social ordeals, either because they were trafficked, or because their mothers were trafficked. "Their dreams, aspirations, and hopes, as well as the pain of their exploitation, are reflected through a rich visual and textual journey, giving the readers a peep into their world."

The book has been brought out with an aim to end the stigma and discrimination perpetrated against children from the red light areas, to stop the demand for trafficked and prostituted children by making men aware about the consequences of their demand, and to help adult policy-makers develop interventions for children affected by trafficking for prostitution.
Source

Email from Ajali Pathak to The Communication Initiative on November 19 2007 and Apne Aap website.

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Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 10/30/2010 - 02:01 Permalink

Can you send complimentary copy .

Prof Dr Alay Ahmad
email kuju7@yahoo.com