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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.
 
Co-founder Victoria Martin is pleased to see this work continue under Wits' leadership. Victoria knows that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction.
 
We honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades. Meanwhile, La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA) continues independently at cila.comminitcila.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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Dealing with the Problems of Difficult Settlement or Solution In the World

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To counteract the paradigms of development, growth, power, wealth, work and freedom embedded into the current public policies, research and teaching programmes, we need to consider the political and economic power asymmetries, the corporations-oriented public policies, the effect of megaprojects associated with increased pollution, corruption, consumerism and the appropriation of thoughts and bodies as commodities for sale.

Building social meanings beyond marketed technologies, creating new forms of individual and collective identities, imply the development of critical thinking in view of the essential conditions for the quality of life  (education, security, health care, food, shelter, clothing) and a warning against “development projects” related to pollution, corruption, consumerism and the appropriation of thoughts and bodies as products put up for sale.

To counteract public policies segmented programmes, mass media headlines and reduced academic formats, which try to solve isolated problems without addressing the general phenomenon, the ecosystemic approach defines and deal with them deep inside the “boiling pot”, where they emerge, in terms of the boundaries, structures, techno-economic paradigms, support groups and rules of legitimation.

This means an expansion of concepts and ideas in view of an ecosystem approach, taking into account four dimensions of being-in-the-world (intimate, interactive, social and biophysical), since they combine, as donors and recipients, to generate the events (deficits or assets), to deal with the consequences (desired or undesirable) and to contribute to change (potential achievements).

Ref.: PILON, A. F., Developing an Ecosystemic Approach to Live Better in a Better World: A Global Voice for Humanity Survival in the 21st Century, Herald of the International Academy of Science (Health & Ecology), Moscow, 1, 2014: 12-15 [on line]: http://www.heraldrsias.ru/download/articles/02_Pilon.pdf

Comments

Submitted by felico on Wed, 11/08/2017 - 13:51 Permalink

I strongly agree with you [Robert Agunga] that C4D is both an accademy and a profession. It is unfortunate that in the 21st Century Africa we are still failing to include C4D in our curriculars. As a Community Health Worker I came across C4D in a workshop. Although the expert barely touched the essentials on C4D, I have since then read extensively and schooled myself in C4D. I must say here that my skills are yeilding tremedous benefit to my community. I see more and more behaviour change in my community as a result of my work.

I hope in the years ahead you will be able to collaborate with other institutions in Africa to start even a diploma program . C4D is a must if Africa has to rise from the current quagmire of politico-social and economic chaos which has given rise to increase health crisis.

Like you said, I am staying tuned.