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Health action with informed and engaged societies
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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 cila.comminitcila.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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Children, Clowning and Resilience - Chile

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Headquartered in Santiago de Chile, Chile, Circo del Mundo-Chile [World Circus] carries out the project Children, Clowning and Resilience. The main objective of this programme is to stimulate the social and emotional development of poor children in urban settings through the use of entertainment. One specific aim is to encourage children to reduce their use of violence in situations of conflict with their peers by using humour and by stimulating children's self-esteem, creativity, and autonomy. The project targets children in the cities of Iquique and Alto Hospicio who are between the ages of 3 and 12 years old and who attend 11 local schools and 5 local day care facilities.
Communication Strategies
The project includes clowning workshops in which circus-like techniques are used, such as interactive clowning, participation of parents and relatives in workshops and interactive clowning sessions, community festivals with presentations by participants in workshops, regional festivals of clowning, and community participation in each project activity.
Development Issues
Children, Health, Violence.
Key Points
An assessment conducted by the project in 2000 showed that 67% of children participating in the programme tended to use violence as a resource in dealing with their peers. Project coordinators claim that the project has also stimulated public debate about children's growth and development, particularly among professionals who work in this area. Evaluation of the programme is ongoing; it uses a panel design to analyse a sample of participants.
Sources

"Documenting and Sharing Learning in Health Communication for Development - A Literature Review." Prepared by Rafael Obreg