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Child rights action with informed and engaged societies
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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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Stories Across Africa

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Started in 2004 by the African Academy of Languages (ACALAN), Stories Across Africa (StAAf) is a Pan-African network that works to develop and support the use of African languages for children in the print publishing industry. It also seeks to encourage reading for enjoyment as part of literacy learning and development. It does this through advocating for a culture of reading and facilitating the publication of books for young people.
Communication Strategies

Stories Across Africa works to support mothertongue-based bilingual education in Africa, as well as stimulate and support African publishers, and literary and visual artists to create and foster the use of children's literature. The network brings together people from all regions of Africa from educational and cultural spheres, encouraging and stimulating communication about literacy and reading among wide sectors.

The Stories Across Africa project (StAAf) has produced a boxed set of 16 Little Hands books to commemorate the Year of African Languages (2006-2007). The set of books was created to be appropriate for various young children (aged 2-6) and was launched in June 2007 at the Cape Town Bookfair. The organisers state that process of decision making for all of the necessary steps (such as book development, selection, editing, illustrating, translating, etc.) provided valuable insights and guidance for larger anthology processes. The Little Hands books are printed in 24 languages. Books were sponsored by organisations such as the African Union to celebrate the Year of African Languages (Arabic, Amharic, Kiswahili, English, French and Portuguese) and Progresso in Mozambique for their bilingual education work (Yao, Cinyanja, Emakhuw, Makonde Kimwane and Portuguese). Private donors have sponsored books to go to Burundi and Rwanda via Concern in Kinyarwanda, French, and English) and support has been given by private donors and Rotary International for books in isiZulu for the Family Literacy Project.

According to StAAf, the organisation raises funds from sponsors/donors for the printing and free distribution of books, in agreed-upon languages and print runs to agreed-upon destinations. This is the preferred strategy as previous experience has shown, that there is a need in most, if not all, African countries to:

    Development Issues

    Children, Education, Literacy

    Partners

    African Academy of Languages; Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa (PRAESA), University of Cape Town; Ford Foundation; African Union; and the Organisation of African Unity.

    Sources

    Electronic Monday Paper Volume 23 No 28 on September 27 2004 and PRAESA website on March 23 2009.