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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PRODERITH I, Rural Communication System - Mexico

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The Programme of Integrated Rural Development in the Tropical Wetlands ( PRODERITH) was, in this first stage, an integrated development programme which fostered participation of community members in the process of identifying and analysing problems within their communities, planning and implementing actions to resolve them, and monitoring and evaluating results. This pilot programme ran from 1978 through 1984, was centralized within three distinct communities, and worked in depth with 3,500 peasant families.
Communication Strategies

PRODERITH I was committed to promoting community members as protagonists in their own development, with appropriate assistance and support from outside. All aspects of training, discussions within the communities, and evaluations of the programme itself were supported through video recording and playback and overseen by specialist Field Units. The programme was democratic in nature, but centralized in actual process.
Development Issues

Increasing agricultural production and productivity in the tropics through technical assistance, improving the living and working conditions of peasants (including basic arithmetic, purification of drinking water, food and nutrition, children's diseases, the social and political role of women), and conserving natural resources.
Key Points

Utilised video recording and playback to stimulate and deepen debate within a community about its past, present, and possible future. Ultimately, PRODERITH I Field Units generated an Internal Development Project with each community, detailing a consensus that actions should and could be taken to improve the situation within the community. Also formed "pedagogical packages" consisting of a series of 10-15min. educational videos with supporting printed materials to be discussed with PRODERITH I advisors and then taken home for peer discussion.
Partners



Secretariat for Agriculture and Water Resources; Mexico, and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.

Sources

Fraser, Colin & Sonia Restrepo-Estrada (1998) Communicating for Development: Human Change for Survival, London, I.B. Tauris