Media 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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The Bravest Boy I Know - Book

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The book, The Bravest Boy I Know, is about two friends, Kendi, who is living with HIV, and Kayla. The story is set in Africa and is a tale of how the two friends deal with HIV in a positive way. Illustrated by artist, Sujean Rim, the book conveys the message that by taking medicine children living with HIV can live active and healthy lives while also explaining that the medicines can make children feel unwell and tired. It seeks to make people understand that "HIV-positive children can go to school, play and live like any other children. They, and their families, need care and support, not stigma and discrimination."
The book is acccompanied by a Discussion Guide, a Fact Sheet, and a narrated video. The discussion guide, can be used "as a discussion starter for many audiences, especially children aged five years and over, including children living with HIV, parents, other family members, caregivers and friends, as well as health-care providers, teachers and other support professionals."
The fact sheet offers facts about HIV and children and highlights the importance of knowing one's status.
The video of the book is narrated by South African singer Loyiso Bala and Annah Sango, a young activist from Zimbabwe and a member of the International Community of Women living with HIV.
The book will be delivered to schools across Africa through the ST-EP (Sustainable Tourism for Eliminating Poverty) Small Libraries project, a joint project with UNAIDS.
Languages

English and French with a Portuguese version to follow.

Number of Pages

34

Source

UNAIDS website on May 26 2014.