Social Norms
Social norms action with informed and engaged societies
Social Norms
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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RTK - Malawi Field

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Estimates of HIV infection among 15-24 year old persons in Malawi range from 5 to 18 percent, making Malawi one of the 25 most affected countries in the world.* Young people's full and genuine participation in HIV/AIDS programming is essential to ensure that the message of HIV prevention gets through to them. “Right to Know” hopes to strengthen youth-led prevention initiatives by supporting young people's involvement in all stages of program planning, and to enable young people to creatively document, reflect, design and strengthen HIV/AIDS prevention projects.

“Right to Know” will also facilitate young people's involvement in the design and implementation of a national youth communication strategy. Currently, young people are conducting participatory action research in districts that are representative of the many regions in Malawi to learn what their peers know about HIV/AIDS, to identify the knowledge gaps/needs, and to ensure that knowledge about HIV/AIDS can be translated into positive action.

Behavior development is crucial in Malawi because while knowledge about HIV/AIDS is widespread, there is no corresponding change in sexual behavior and misconceptions and misinformation about HIV transmission and treatment abound. Traditions, conventions, beliefs and practices that predispose adolescents to HIV infection are predominant, especially in the rural areas. Additionally, young people have unequal access to information and sexual and reproductive health services due to such variables as socio-economic status, urban-rural differences, age and gender disparities, religious conflicts, etc. Furthermore, social norms regarding the way girls are brought up often result in a lack of the very life skills that young females need if they are to make positive decisions about their sexual lives.

“Right to Know” will specifically strengthen the capacity of youth NGOs in areas of participatory action research, communication strategy development, implementation and evaluation. RTK will launch an information and communication strategy and package and provide adolescents with information and life skills that can assist them in the prevention of HIV/AIDS. “Right to Know” will seek to make young people's voices heard and HIV/AIDS knowledge relevant to their ever-changing life contexts.

*UNAIDS Report on the Global HIV/AIDS epidemic, 2002.

SOURCE:
UNICEF Right to Know Initiative, November 2002.
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