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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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VCU.br

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VCU.br is a community media livelihood programme in Sáo Paolo, Brazil, that gives young people from favelas (slums) the skills needed to set up media businesses. The project is run by Video Volunteers in collaboration with Casa Das Caldeiras, a Sáo Paolo non-governmental organisation (NGO). The goal of VCU.br is for each fellow (also referred to as community media entrepreneurs) to develop a one-year career plan enabling them to create meaningful documentaries in a way that would financially support them. The ultimate aim is to enable these youth to develop a sustainable career in videography and media production.

Communication Strategies

The selection process for the first batch of VCU.br entrepreneurs took place from June-July 2009. They were selected from 5 different video/educational/social projects in São Paulo that run short-term video trainings for favela youth. Qualifications included: the entrepreneurs must be from disadvantaged backgrounds, they must have prior video experience, and they must have demonstrated that they had tried to find work in media but had failed to do so because they lacked sufficient business skills, networks, or training. Ten community media entrepreneurs were selected.

 

Video Volunteers designed a curriculum on video and livelihood, and Casa Das Caldeiras implemented it. The training included a mix of technical training and creative workshops by media professionals and artists. The entrepreneurs each produced 3 final films over the course of 8 months of training. The first production focused solely on cultivating sharp technical and story telling abilities. The second challenged the entrepreneurs to create productions for a (non-paying) client. The third film aimed to incorporate all the learnings from the previous months of training, train the entrepreneurs to garner contracts for their work, and produce content for a paying client. Finally, the entrepreneurs worked with VCU.br staff to create a personal business plan for their video production work.

 

The first batch of "favela media entrepreneurs" graduated in April 2010. They then formed a video collective (Coletivo CAÇAMBA). "[T]hese young people have secured a number of professional contracts to produce content for other NGOs, arts organizations and private companies. In short, they are successfully selling themselves and their skills to the market."

Development Issues

Youth.

Key Points

According to Video Volunteers, "While Brazil has one of the most vibrant and thriving community media environments in the world, individual programs are often short-lived. After the conclusion of these programs, individuals and organizations often go separate ways. Participants go back to their jobs (or unemployment) and life continues much as it did before. The architecture for ongoing financially sustainable options needed to be built."

Sources

Video Volunteers Newsletter, March 22 2011; and Video Volunteers website, November 4 2011.