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. 

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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Pona Bana - We Are Together Online Project

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Launched in December 2013, Pona Bona (meaning "children" in Lingala) is an online platform designed to be used by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), its partners, and child beneficiaries in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to share information and exchange ideas about realising children's rights. The blog includes reports, key figures, fact sheets, thematic articles, photos, videos, and infographics to communicate the situation, progress, and opportunities for children's rights in the DRC.

Communication Strategies

The Pona Bana blog collects inputs from UNICEF field workers and guest bloggers who are working with and for children in the DRC on issues such as rights, protection, health, nutrition, water and sanitation, and education. The blog posts share their field experience with readers, intended as a way to share information about what is working and what isn't, as well as to communicate the reality of what's happening on the ground. By sharing this information, the blog is designed to be a way to exchange ideas and foster discussion.

The blog is also designed as a tool to encourage the participation of children in the DRC, allowing them to discuss issues that concern them. The Voix de le Infant (Voice of Children) section is a dedicated space where children can interact with others from around the world and share their videos, articles, and drawings. UNICEF leads a network of youth reporters, who participate in blogging for the site.

Development Issues

Children

Partners

United Nations Children's Fund

Sources

Pona Bana blog, UNICEF website, and ReliefWeb website on May 22 2014.