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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Digital Stories

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Sonke Gender Justice and the Center for Digital Storytelling’s (CFDS) Silence Speaks project produced a series of digital stories that share the experiences of men and women who have been affected by violence and HIV/AIDS. The project, initiated in 2007, uses an intensive, participatory workshop process and is designed to deepen existing conversations about gender norms and the spread of both violence and HIV/AIDS by highlighting "everyday voices of courage, survival, and action."
Communication Strategies

The stories were created through a participatory workshop process that allowed participants to share their stories verbally, write them into short scripts, collect photos and video clips, and finally record their stories. Participants were guided through hands-on computer tutorials that gave them the skills to create the digital stories.

 

According to the organisers, the workshops were structured in a way that took great care to balance emotional support with focused production tasks. This is in accordance with the Center for Digital Storytelling's Silence Speaks methodology, which adapts principles from popular education, art therapy, trauma recovery, and group processes to ensure opportunities for personal and collective transformation.

 

The stories are available for use by other organisations wishing to conduct workshops around violence and HIV/AIDS. Sonke has developed a guide for workshop facilitators, Responding to Violence and HIV/AIDS: Digital Stories from Southern Africa Facilitator's Guide, that provides information about using the digital stories in workshop settings. Click here to access the facilitator's guide in PDF format.

 

Although the workshops were held in South Africa, individuals from Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Swaziland also participated.

 

Click here for access to additional discussion guides including: Inspiring Action: Digital Stories of HIV, Gender, and Hope from Rural South Africa and "We all have rights": Stories of Gender and Health by South African Youth: Discussion Guide and stories from various workshops in this ongoing project [See the right navigation bar links under "Digital Stories Pages"].

Development Issues

Gender, HIV/AIDS, Gender Violence

Partners

Sonke Gender Justice; Center for Digital Storytelling; International Organization for Migration; Open Society Initiative for Southern; John Lloyd Foundation; the Western Cape Department of Health; the South African Development Fund; the Ford Foundation; The United Nations Children's fund (UNICEF); and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

Sources

Sonke Gender Justice website on December 1 2008; and email from Dean Peacock to The Communication Initiative on January 26 2010.

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