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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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Art Scholarships for Children - Asia/Pacific

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A series of seven art contests was organised by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as part of an effort to provide art scholarships to poor children who display potential as artists. The purpose of the programme was to reduce poverty in the Asia/Pacific region by highlighting the promise, as well as the plight, of poor children.
Communication Strategies
In August, 2002, ten Filipino street children received scholarships as part of a competition with the theme "If I Had the Chance..." The Manila art competition, held in June, 2002, attracted 150 participating 'street artists' between the ages of 5 and 16. The children registered through 12 local NGOs. A panel of judges selected the winning drawings based on theme, originality, and artistic ability. The children also voted for their favorite drawings.

The Manila competition was the last of the seven contests, which took place in Dhaka, Jakarta, Kathmandu, Phnom Penh, Port Moresby, and Ulaanbaatar. In total, over 1,000 children, 70 NGOs, and 500 volunteers participated.
Development Issues
Economic Development, Children, Youth.
Key Points
ADB plans to publish a book with a selection of the winning artworks as well as profiles of the artists and their situations, providing the children with a means of communicating with the public, including decision makers.
Sources

News release "Filipino Street Children Received ADB Art Scholarships"; letter sent from Cora Lassi to The Communication Initiative on August 15, 2002.