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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. 

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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Grants - Media - Southern Africa - SAMIP

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South Africa Media Innovation Program (SAMIP) expands to five Southern African countries
 

SAMIP (summary at this link) announces a call for media innovators from five Southern African countries to apply to join its cohort of independent media initiatives

SAMIP will admit up to five new projects, providing grants of USD5,000 to 15,000 per organisation, as well as capacity building and technical assistance. Follow this link for full eligibility criteria and to apply.

SAMIP was launched by Media Development Investment Fund in 2017 to diversify, strengthen and support innovation among independent media initiatives through a mix of project funding, technical support and capacity building, and investment. Its initial focus was the South African media sector.

Now, after four years and 24 media initiatives, SAMIP is expanding its focus to include independent media organisations in five new Southern African countries: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Independent media in these five countries are invited to apply to join its cohort of publishers by July 31, 2021.

SAMIP provides a space for new and established ventures to undertake a major strategic project for the growth or sustainability of their organisation, including developing new audiences and products, testing new strategies and exploring new revenue opportunities.

There is a summary at this link

There is a full outline at this link

Please fill out this form by 31 July 2021 to apply to join the South Africa Media Innovation Program regional expansion – open to independent media initiatives based in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.