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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. 

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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Virtual Consultations: Communication for Development, Community Media and ICTs for Family Farming and Rural Development

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"Now, more than ever, communication and community media are drivers for social change in rural areas, facilitating access to timely information for improved agricultural production and above all, encouraging farmer participation in the rural development process."

In the framework of the International Year of Family Farming (IYFF), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is collaborating with the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) on the Forum on Communication for Development and Community Media for Family Farming (FCCM), which is set to take place in Rome, Italy from October 23-24 2014. The main objective of the FCCM is to demonstrate and showcase the importance of communication for development (ComDev) as a catalyst and enabler of innovation and participation by family farmers.

In preparation for the FCCM, a series of virtual consultations titled "Communication for Development, community media and ICTs [information and communication technologies] for family farming and rural development" started August 25 and will continue until September 12 so that different regional and sector perspectives may be collected. The online discussions are facilitated by the joint FAO-AMARC platforms Onda Rural in Latin America, YenKasa Africa, and ComDev Asia.

As a result of this consultative process, a compilation on needs and opportunities regarding the integration of rural communication services in rural development and regional family farming policies will be prepared and presented at the FCCM.

In addition, a global consultation on the topic will take place on the E-agriculture platform from September 22 to October 6 to foster discussion and complement the outcomes of the regional consultations.

For all additional information and to find out how to participate, please contact: comdev@fao.org or secretariat@si.amarc.org. Organisers will also be sharing information on Twitter: @FAOcomdev, @AMARCnews and @cccomdev

Source:
Email from FAO's ComDev Team to The Communication Initiative on August 25 2014. Image credit: Food and Agriculture Organization

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