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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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Khat Vong Song ("The Desire of Life") and Hanh Trinh Xanh ("Green Journey")

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Khat Vong Song (“The Desire of Life”), a radio serial drama created in Vietnam to promote reproductive health and avoidance of HIV/AIDS, included in its broadcast agenda issues such as improving the status of women, delaying the age of marriage, and equal valuing of male and female children. The second radio drama project, the climate change and natural disasters adaptation-focused Hanh Trinh Xanh (“Green Journey”), covers topics including new sustainable farming methods and drought-resistant crops, illegal tree cutting, and learning how to adapt in an economy that is increasingly dependent on natural resources.

Population Media Center (PMC) provided assistance to the Voice of Vietnam Radio (VOV) at the invitation of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)-Vietnam for the development of the first drama, Khat Vong Song. The second PMC/VOV drama, Hanh Trinh Xanh, was funded by DANIDA (development assistance programmes of the Danish government).

Communication Strategies

Khat Vong Song was broadcast nationwide on three of VOV's radio stations, in addition to being streamed online. There was an interactive website where listeners could find more information about the issues raised in the programme, post their comments and reactions to the programme, learn more about the characters, and download episodes. The programme debuted in March 2008 and consisted of 104 episodes and was broadcast to listeners in all 64 provinces and cities.

 

In 2011, PMC held a writing workshop for VOV scriptwriters focused on the programme Hanh Trinh Xanh. The drama takes place in four regions of Vietnam - with landscapes varying from mountains to river deltas to coastlines - and stresses the importance of adapting sustainable environmental practices. According to PMC: "The workshop focused on character development and defining the story arcs for the transitional characters - the key characters in PMC’s dramas as they are the ones the audience emulates. The drama will unfold in four different geographical regions, ranging from the mountain areas to the coast to the river deltas. Hanh Trinh Xanh not only focuses on hardships of surviving in an economy dependent on natural resources - the drama will also draw the audience into personal conflicts, romances, and relationships between the characters from the different regions."

Development Issues

HIV, Reproductive Health, Environment, Natural Resource Management

Key Points

According to the Vietnam Administration of HIV/AIDS Control (VAAC) and the Ministry of Health, by March 31 2007, there were 122,487 known cases of HIV infection of which 22,566 cases had become full-blown AIDS. Furthermore, there were 13,157 reported AIDS-related deaths. It is estimated that the real numbers could be three times higher. As many as 10,000 people are infected with HIV annually.  The HIV/AIDS epidemic has spread to 64 cities/provinces and 94% of districts and villages in the country. Young people ages 20-39 account for 79% of HIV infections. In addition, as of 2007, only 66% of married women were using a modern method of birth control.

Partners

Hanh Trinh Xanh is supported by DANIDA, the Danish International Development Agency.

Sources

Population Media Center website, May 25 2012, and email from Kriss Barker to The Communication Initiative on June 13 2012.