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

Time to read
1 minute
Print
a- a+
Published 22 years ago
Last updated 1 year ago
Read so far

Zimbabwe AIDS Policy and Advocacy (ZAPA) - Zimbabwe

0 comments
The Zimbabwe AIDS Policy and Advocacy (ZAPA) Project is designed to strengthen the ability of civil society organizations, including NGOs, church groups, and community groups, to advocate for effective HIV/AIDS policies, and to support development activities in the public sector that strengthen government effectiveness in designing and implementing policy. ZAPA is organised around five HIV/AIDS themes:
  1. Women's empowerment
  2. Youth
  3. Stigma and discrimination
  4. Orphans and vulnerable children
  5. Reproductive health
Main Communication Strategies
The project is currently completing the following baseline studies:
  • Situational Analysis of the current HIV/AIDS policy and advocacy environment in Zimbabwe.
  • National situational analysis on the use and availability of HIV/AIDS information by media professionals in Zimbabwe.
  • National baseline assessment of the ability of Faith-Based Communities to speak out on and mitigate HIV/AIDS in their communities.
In addition, it has recently completed work on the CSO Advocacy Index Tool, used to measure the capacity of CSOs to conduct advocacy, and has obtained baseline scores using this tool for each of the CSOs selected to receive ZAPA funding in its grants programme.

The project also manages a national awards program to recognize exceptional contributions of individuals, companies, and civil society organizations in the effort to break the silence on HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe. Media advocacy campaigns are designed to influence public policy development, and encourage government and civic leaders to speak out on specific HIV/AIDS issues.
Development Issues
Health.
Key Points
The ZAPA Project is in the process of awarding approximately US$455,000 in grant funding to 22 CSOs for a wide spectrum of advocacy campaigns. CSOs selected for grant funding include, among others, the Child Protection Society, Women's AIDS Support Network, Victory Tabernacle Church, and the Public Service Association of Zimbabwe.

Workshops and training sessions are organized for leadership from civil society, public and private sector organizations. These workshops address a wide range of topics, including: HIV/AIDS technical areas, policy content and formulation, advocacy skills, financial management, monitoring and evaluation and other areas identified by target groups.
Sources

USAID HIV/AIDS E-Newsletter May 15, 2003.