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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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Children and youth at risk: Adaptation and pilot study of the CHAMP (Amaqhawe) programme in South Africa

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Bhana, A., I. Petersen, et al. (2004). "Children and youth at risk: Adaptation and pilot study of the CHAMP (Amaqhawe) programme in South Africa." African Journal of AIDS Research 3(1): 33-41.

Abstract: This paper reports on the adaptation and pilot study of the CHAMP programme (Collaborative HIV/AIDS and Adolescent Mental Health Programme) in South Africa with specific reference to outcome effects among adults. CHAMP was originally developed in the United States and is a developmentally-timed intervention, which aims to prevent HIV infection in youth through promoting resiliency in pre-adolescents and their families as well as strengthening the community protective shield. The adaptation was informed by a focused ethnographic study of the risk influences for HIV transmission in adolescents at the individual, family/interpersonal and community levels within the study site and achieved through a collaborative partnership of academics, community members, graphic artists and service providers. The CHAMP programme in South Africa (Amaqhawe) employs participatory adult education principles, including a participatory cartoon-based narrative method to deliver its content. Proximal outcome effects of the pilot study demonstrate positive effects amongst the parent participants at the individual and interpersonal/family levels of influence compared to the comparison group indicating the potential applicability of the CHAMP programme in South Africa.