The Communication Initiative
Development action with informed and engaged societies
The Communication Initiative
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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Fired Up

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Based in the United States, Fired Up Media is a network of videographers, editors, and journalists reporting from the front lines of the youth climate movement and disseminating information through a virtual newsroom.
Communication Strategies

This information and communication technology (ICT) initiative harnesses dynamic advances in digital communications and new media, creative social entrepreneurship, and existing youth media to build a media network focusing on climate change issues.

 

At the centre of Fired Up is the training of a global network of youth climate activists and writers in new organising and communications tools. This training is accomplished through an online organising wiki which offers information organised into categories such as "Introduction to Online Organizing", "Basic Online Organizing Guide", "Top 20 Communications Tools", "Mapping the New Media Landscape", "Online Video Resources", "Social Bookmarking", and "Resource Libraries". Other tools available on the Fired Up website include a document sharing tool, a calendar and email function, a discussion group, and various resources and links designed to empower the global youth climate movement to share information and spark action.

 

These ICTs come into play in various Fired Up projects, such as Youth Action TV, which centres around a periodic 5-minute video news segments on climate change, energy, and activism produced by a network of young producers/editors from around the United States. Fired Up solicits stories from youth groups and organisations in the format of a 250-500 word narrative and an accompanying photo. These stories cover youth issues ranging from education, to politics, to jobs and the economy, to entertainment and culture - all through the lens of impact of global warming and the construction of a cleaner, more just economy and society. Produced as news segments, the stories are then published online on the Fired Up website and posted to Fired Up affiliate sites along with the original story that inspired the episode. This will allow Fired Up to reach beyond their intended audience (the 36% of young Americans who, according to The 2006 National Civic and Political Health Survey, are "civically engaged") to audiences around the country and the world. In time, Fired Up Media will bring in greater numbers of teams and journalists from around the country and the world, and the Youth Action TV package will expand to fit more stories and perspectives.

Development Issues

Youth, Environment.

Key Points

For more information, contact:
Richard Graves
Founder
Fired Up Media
United States
editor@firedupmedia.com

Sources

Fired Up website.