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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The Puppet Has a Cough

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The Puppet has a Cough is a puppet show project meant to educate Ethiopians about HIV/AIDS. The puppeteers who launched this project are part of the HIV/AIDS Education Team at the Counselling and Social Services Center of the Medical Missionaries of Mary (MMM) in Ethiopia.
Communication Strategies

Utilising drama, music, video, and other techniques, the puppeteers in this project perform for and work with students to pass on information about preventing HIV/AIDS and caring for people with HIV/AIDS. Through the performances, the puppets teach students how important it is to break down the social stigma of HIV/AIDS, emphasising that everyone in the community has a role to play in combating the epidemic.

"The patient puppet has a cough. The doctor puppet quickly finds out that there's a lot more to it than a plain old cough. The dialogue between the two touches on all the issues related to HIV /AIDS. Soon, a lively questions and answers session is under way, with a very inter-active audience."

The puppeteers on the project say the personality of the puppets is important for the interaction with the audience. A lion takes on the role of the devastating virus that attacks the human immune system. On the other hand, the gentle zebra is the wise one, who takes a positive outlook and gives useful advice.

Development Issues

HIV/AIDS.

Sources

MMM website on June 9 2005 and February 6 2009.

Teaser Image
http://www.mmmworldwide.org/media/puppet1_sm.jpg