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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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Young Women First! (YWF!)

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The Young Women First! (YWF!) programme seeks to mobilise and empower young women, as well as provide support, to enable young women to claim their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Launched by SAfAIDS in 2011, the project provides a platform to raise awareness of SRHR issues and to speak on behalf of young women and girls at continental level, linking with regional and international platforms such as the African Union, UN Women, and UNGASS. It also encourages dialogue and awareness through a newsletter, a blog, and facebook page.
Communication Strategies

The goal of the YWF! programme is to reduce the sexual and reproductive health vulnerability of women and girls aged between 15-24 years. Its strategies include:

  • strengthening the capacity of at least 120 young women champions to better understand and articulate the key issues relating to SRHR vulnerability and become SRHR advocates;
  • building SRHR leadership capacity of these 120 young women and increasing their voices in the dialogues/debates about their SRHR vulnerabilities and needs;
  • scaling up access to success stories of the young women including advocacy work towards reducing women and girls' SRH-related vulnerabilities in southern Africa, as well as increasing access to evidence-based information (through video and booklets).

The project includes a Young Women First website and newsletter. Young women are also encouraged to stay connected to the programme through the Southern African Young Women Network blog and Facebook page.

Development Issues

Sexual and Reproductive Rights, Youth

Key Points

Established in 1994, SAfAIDS is a regional non-profit organisation based in Harare, (Zimbabwe), with country offices in Pretoria (South Africa), Lusaka (Zambia), Manzini (Swaziland), and Maputo (Mozambique). For the last 15 years, SAfAIDS has implemented programmes in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. SAfAIDS' vision is to ensure that all people in Africa realise their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and are free from the burden of HIV, TB and other related developmental health issues. In order to achieve it's objectives, the organisation uses advocacy, communication and social mobilisation (ACSM) strategies to influence changes in policy and social practices.

Sources

Young Women First! website on July 11 2012.