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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Project Cinémobile

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The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Project Cinémobile is an effort to bring health education and information to rural areas in Madagascar through mobile video units. As part of this process, trained youth screen educational videos and interact with the audience through discussions and games. The project is designed to overcome the lack of access to health education and information that affects most of Madagascar’s population.
Communication Strategies

This project draws on information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the form of mobile video units (cinemobiles) to deliver health messages to rural and other vulnerable communities in an entertaining, interactive format. Each Cinémobile team consists of 3 well-trained young people, audio-visual equipment, and an all-terrain vehicle.

The teams tour the country and screen one of three films: "Tsy Digniko", on the subject of sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV/AIDS prevention, "Meva ny Sûr’Eau," on safe drinking water practices, and “Ilay Tolotra Sarobidy," on malaria prevention. Cinémobile facilitators engage the audience with a mix of discussions, games, and demonstrations. They distribute various goodies, samples, and gadgets to motivate rural audiences to attend multiple presentations.

Organisers have developed supplemental strategies, adapted to specific communities being addressed, to enhance the mobile video shows. For example, the programme produced soap operas which addressed issues of responsible sexual behaviour, condom use, STI treatment, and living with HIV/AIDS. In addition, the Cinémobile team organises malaria meetings for pregnant women and/or mothers with children under the age of 5 years at locations such as public health centres.

Development Issues

Health, HIV/AIDS.

Key Points

According to USAID, over three-quarters of Madagascar's population lives in rural areas, and only 6% of all households have a television. Approximately two-thirds of young women aged 15-24 to have no access to any form of mass media.

USAID indicates that Cinémobile's popularity is reflected in event attendance figures: Each team draws an average crowd of 750 to 1,000 per night and conducts around 15 presentations per month. One "Sûr’Eau, Sûr’e" presentation drew an audience of approximately 10,000. From the period of June 2000 to the end of 2005, a total of 3,569 presentations were conducted in 6 provinces and reached a total of approximately 2,664,150 people.

Furthermore, according to USAID, research in other countries demonstrates a link between Cinémobile presentations and preventive sexual behaviour. A community-based study conducted in Rwanda in 1998 found that males who had attended a Cinémobile presentation reported significantly higher condom use (32%) than those who had never attended.

Sources

USAID website on March 14 2006; and emails from Jocelyne Andriamiadana to The Communication Initiative on April 10 and April 11 2007.