Children
Child rights action with informed and engaged societies
Children
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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Don't Call Me Street Kid! Campaign - Latin America and the Caribbean

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Implemented by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), this public awareness campaign uses social marketing techniques and community mobilisation to draw attention to children who spend most of their time on the street in Latin America and the Caribbean. By partnering with government officials, NGO representatives, civic professionals, sector specialists, and parents and children, these efforts are intended to build the groundwork for the implementation of public policies to address the problem.

From 1999 to 2002, ten tailor-made national campaigns were designed, developed, executed, and evaluated in collaboration with local NGOs working with children in Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, and Perú.
Communication Strategies
Central campaign materials include a poster, a communications guide, a media campaign toolbox, and a video documentary entitled "Don't Call Me Street Kid! Innovative Projects At Work". These materials were developed through advocacy and networking initiatives with different sectors, evaluations with focus groups, and other promotional and educational activities. They were publicised on a national level through the media of television, radio, newspapers and magazines, and the Kids Campaign site. For example, in the context of a prime-time television programme, the video documentary was screened at venues including schools, community centres, police workshops, and town hall meetings. Each screening was followed by a live debate.
Development Issues
Children.
Key Points
Programme organisers point out that children most often end up on the streets because their families are unable to provide for their material, physical, or emotional needs; the root cause is poverty, which affects family stability and leads youngsters into low-paying jobs, petty theft, prostitution, or other survival strategies that may involve their becoming victims of abuse, exploitation, or murder.
Sources

Letter sent to The Communication Initiative by Jose Luis Lobera on October 15, 2002; and Kids Campaign site.