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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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Grassroots Female Communicators Association (GRAFCA)

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Launched in July 2011, the Grassroots Female Communicators Association (GRAFCA) works to build the capacity of village leaders in the Songea Rural District, Tanzania, to challenge discrimination and lead an anti-stigma campaign surrounding HIV/AIDS infection and treatment through educational and empowering workshops held in and around rural areas. GRAFCA is a non-profit organisation created by female journalists and communicators interested in and committed to the development of rural communities, and is supported by the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC).

Communication Strategies

The project is based on the idea that community communication can play a central role in creating awareness and understanding of HIV and AIDS in rural areas. According to GRAFCA, statistics show that efforts and resources have been expended in Tanzania to raise awareness and prevent early deaths of people infected with the virus. The decline in infection rates in urban and middle class communities due to interventions by development agents and mass media has however not been replicated in rural areas. The Association was formed to build the capacity of village leaders, including administrative, religious, women's groups, and youth leaders, to challenge stigma.

 

One of the first activities of the association was a workshop in rural Tanzania, which provided an opportunity to map a communication strategy to address HIV and AIDS related stigma at the grassroots level. As a project sustainability strategy, two task forces were formed and are conducting meetings at the grassroots. GRAFCA also publishes "Parapanda", a newspaper intended to enlighten authorities on issues affecting poor rural populations.

Development Issues

HIV/AIDS

Key Points

According to GRAFCA, the HIV and AIDS pandemic is a serious threat to Tanzania’s social and economic development. Concerns noted at the planning workshop included the tendency to blame women as sources of HIV/AIDS in families.

Sources

WACC Global website on May 5 2012.