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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MTV Shuga: Alone Together

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"The only way to fight the challenges posed by COVID-19 is to empower and equip a generation of active citizens with accurate information and encourage dialogue." - Monde Twala, Senior Vice President and General Manager of ViacomCBS Networks Africa

MTV Shuga, a multiplatform edutainment campaign, has used pop culture, trending music, and youthful storytelling in an effort to change behaviours since November 2009. On April 20 2020, MTV premiered a COVID-19-related version of the edutainment series that featured 70 daily scripted episodes filmed throughout lockdown in Kenya, Côte D'Ivoire, Nigeria, South Africa, Botswana, and the United States (US). Topics covered included COVID-19 messaging (handwashing, social distancing, quarantine/lockdown) and gender-based violence (GBV), unplanned pregnancy, access to services, mental health, and misinformation. MTV Shuga Alone Together also examines the increased risks faced by people who may be HIV positive and/or those who have tuberculosis (TB). The purpose of the initiative is to remind people who may feel isolated that they are not truly alone, as well as to reinforce crucial behaviour change messages that can contribute to the global fight to flatten the COVID-19 curve.

Communication Strategies

Available for streaming and sharing across online platforms, this pan-African mini-series of 6-10 minute episodes sees characters from different countries connecting via video calls as they navigate their "new normal" under COVID-19 - reflecting how social media has become the new form of socialising during this era of lockdown. While some characters, who are familiar faces from various seasons across the years, focus their concerns on the more material aspects of this new lockdown life, others struggle to cope with the everyday strains of isolation, economic upheaval, and life behind closed doors. The series is scripted; however, because the actors could not leave their apartments and needed to remain physically distanced, the filming, lighting, and makeup were done by the actors themselves.

The Alone Together website, available in English and French, provides access to all 70 episodes, as well as to blogs (e.g., "What To Do if You Think You Have COVID-19"), answers to questions (e.g., "My partner is being violent. What should I do?") and an "ask a question" feature, and a list of mental health helplines. While the series aired, viewers could also follow along and connect with fellow MTV Shuga fans via social media (e.g., #MTVShugaAloneTogether #AloneTogether).

Development Issues

COVID-19, Gender-Based Violence, Mental Health, HIV, Youth

Key Points

Typically, a MTV Shuga series takes 10 months to be developed, from greenlight to the first episode. In a rapidly changing situation that is the COVID-19 pandemic, this timeline didn't make sense, and so the first episode of Alone Together aired 3 weeks after the greenlight. Scripts were written just 10 days before they go online, so that the plot could reflect current events and address in a timely manner the issues people were facing.

Sources

Email from Georgia Arnold to The Communication Initiative on September 24 2020; and Alone Together website, "'MTV Shuga Alone Together' a self-shot series, available on YouTube", IOL, May 29 2020, and "Every Woman Every Child partners with the MTV Staying Alive Foundation to Tackle COVID-19", April 16 2020, and "How to Launch a TV Series During a Pandemic: Interview with Georgia Arnold", Every Woman Every Child, May 8 2020 - all accessed on September 25 2020. Image credit: Screenshot of the MTV Shuga: Alone Together website via ATLAS