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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 lainiciativadecomunicacion.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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VCU.br

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VCU.br is a community media livelihood programme in Sáo Paolo, Brazil, that gives young people from favelas (slums) the skills needed to set up media businesses. The project is run by Video Volunteers in collaboration with Casa Das Caldeiras, a Sáo Paolo non-governmental organisation (NGO). The goal of VCU.br is for each fellow (also referred to as community media entrepreneurs) to develop a one-year career plan enabling them to create meaningful documentaries in a way that would financially support them. The ultimate aim is to enable these youth to develop a sustainable career in videography and media production.

Communication Strategies

The selection process for the first batch of VCU.br entrepreneurs took place from June-July 2009. They were selected from 5 different video/educational/social projects in São Paulo that run short-term video trainings for favela youth. Qualifications included: the entrepreneurs must be from disadvantaged backgrounds, they must have prior video experience, and they must have demonstrated that they had tried to find work in media but had failed to do so because they lacked sufficient business skills, networks, or training. Ten community media entrepreneurs were selected.

 

Video Volunteers designed a curriculum on video and livelihood, and Casa Das Caldeiras implemented it. The training included a mix of technical training and creative workshops by media professionals and artists. The entrepreneurs each produced 3 final films over the course of 8 months of training. The first production focused solely on cultivating sharp technical and story telling abilities. The second challenged the entrepreneurs to create productions for a (non-paying) client. The third film aimed to incorporate all the learnings from the previous months of training, train the entrepreneurs to garner contracts for their work, and produce content for a paying client. Finally, the entrepreneurs worked with VCU.br staff to create a personal business plan for their video production work.

 

The first batch of "favela media entrepreneurs" graduated in April 2010. They then formed a video collective (Coletivo CAÇAMBA). "[T]hese young people have secured a number of professional contracts to produce content for other NGOs, arts organizations and private companies. In short, they are successfully selling themselves and their skills to the market."

Development Issues

Youth.

Key Points

According to Video Volunteers, "While Brazil has one of the most vibrant and thriving community media environments in the world, individual programs are often short-lived. After the conclusion of these programs, individuals and organizations often go separate ways. Participants go back to their jobs (or unemployment) and life continues much as it did before. The architecture for ongoing financially sustainable options needed to be built."

Sources

Video Volunteers Newsletter, March 22 2011; and Video Volunteers website, November 4 2011.