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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.
 
Co-founder Victoria Martin is pleased to see this work continue under Wits' leadership. Victoria knows that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction.
 
We honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades. Meanwhile, La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA) continues independently at cila.comminitcila.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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Digital Divide Task Force Pilot Programmes

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At the meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in New York City, the Digital Divide Task Force proposed three initiatives to be piloted in Ghana. The goal of each is to extend internet access for students into remote, rural schools that would not otherwise be connected for several years. Each seeks to develop and test new collaborative business models that are sustainable, scalable, and could be adapted to other countries in Africa.
Communication Strategies

The three WEF pilots are:

  • an Internet Service Provider (ISP) is experimenting with a business plan that would place telecenters in rural schools to provide students with free internet access;
  • a team of Ghanaian non-government organisations (NGOs) is installing used computers in 38 rural schools to connect them to the internet; and
  • partnerships are being developed between two universities in Ghana in order to accomplish content adaptation, teacher training, and computer/network maintenance for their neighboring primary and secondary schools.
Development Issues

Children, Technology, Education.

Key Points

Africa Online and World Computer Exchange are the co-leaders for Ghana of the Education Steering Committee of the Global Digital Divide Task Force of the WEF. This new collaboration is showing early success in bringing a private business sector and a NGO together to work out novel forms of support in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) area.


If the WEF initiatives are successful, WEF will consider working with partners in Cote d'Ivoire, Kenya, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. WEF also plans to work with Kabissa.org, InterConnection, SchoolNet Africa, IDRC, Teachers without Borders, and World Links to expand the WEF Universities-Schools Partnerships initiative into the following countries: Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Kenya, Malawi, Mocambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. This proposed expansion would include the provision of more appropriate local content for teacher training in Ghana, the training of teachers in using ICT for educational purposes, and the development of cultural exchanges (telecollaborative projects) between schools of different countries.

Partners

Africa Online; the World Computer Exchange; World Links; Education Development Center's dot-EDU project (USAID).

Sources

Letter sent from Timothy Anderson to the Global Knowledge Partnership Discussion on February 11, 2002.