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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UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women

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The UN Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) was established by UN General Assembly resolution 50/166 in 1996 and is managed by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) on behalf of the UN system. The UN Trust Fund is the only multilateral grant-making mechanism exclusively devoted to supporting local and national efforts to end violence against women and girls.

Grant-making focuses on supporting the implementation of existing laws, policies and action plans that address violence against women and girls. Grants support:
  • primary prevention strategies to stop violence from occurring altogether in the first place;
  • legal enforcement and rule of law to ensure survivors’ access to justice;
  • survivor’s access to quality health and other services and supports;
  • policy-oriented data collection/analysis and advocacy to promote accountability;
  • empowerment of women to claim their rights and community mobilization for “zero tolerance”;
  • response to the needs and rights of excluded groups of women and girls, and attention to neglected forms of violence; and
  • engagement of “new” actors and strategic groups.
Click here for more information on the UNIFEM website.