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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Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) for Out-of-School Children and Orphans - Zambia

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Launched in 2000 by the USA-based Education Development Center (EDC) and partners, Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) provides alternative, interactive, basic education in radio technology for out-of-school children and orphans. It has also developed the communications infrastructure and technical capacity to implement such a programme. The project's goal is to support the continuation and completion of IRI programmes up to and including Grade 7, and to assist the Zambian Ministry of Education's Educational Broadcast Services (EBS) division in monitoring, evaluating, and improving the reach, quality, and human resources capacity of the IRI project.
Communication Strategies
The project focusses on the following activities:
  • Design of IRI programmes, including:
    1. Development of 200 programmes for Grades 5 and 6 that include life skills and HIV/AIDS segments, improvement in production quality and creativity, timing of scripts, and evaluative processes;
    2. Development of scope, sequence, and master plans for Grade 7, including life skills segments;
  • Revision and improvement of programmes for Grades 1-4;
  • Implementation of 7 one-week workshops for IRI writers with a focus on writing for IRI, addressing life skills and HIV/AIDS, providing distance training to mentors, and developing cost-effective print materials;
  • Training of technicians to operate and maintain digital recording equipment, and to edit and enhance sound digitally to improve overall production quality;
  • Training of producers to supervise and direct studio productions;
  • Assessment of programme impacts consistently based on selected indicators including those of quality and learning performance;
  • Training and mobilisation of the Ministry of Education, the private sector, and NGO personnel at district levels with improved mentor training, supervision, and community networking/mobilisation skills;
  • Increased community radio station support for education and children's health at the community level, including promotion of Taonga Market;
  • Improved qualifications of mentors through in-service training, increased opportunities for teacher certification, collaboration and planning with other stakeholder directorates, and capitalisation on distance learning alternatives;
  • Development of policy and planning documents to enable mentors to train and become certified teachers; and
  • Provision of logistical support to Peace Corps Volunteers to support Taonga Learning Centers.
Development Issues
Children, Education, Technology, HIV/AIDS.
Partners

Education Development Center, Zambia Ministry of Education, Peace Corps, EBS.

Sources

dot-Edu site.