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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ALDO Fights AIDS

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ALDO, a global fashion footwear and accessories brand and retailer, and YouthAIDS, an HIV/AIDS education and prevention initiative launched by Population Services International (PSI), have partnered to create a global HIV/AIDS awareness and fundraising campaign using mass media and information and communication technologies (ICTs) to reach out to teenagers and young adults. The goal is to empower young people to educate themselves and each other about AIDS, undertaking efforts to prevent the disease and to openly accept those who are already infected/affected by it.
Communication Strategies
The ALDO fights AIDS campaign uses a combination of top celebrities and multiple media genres, featured in over 20 countries, to communicate facts associated with HIV/AIDS and - more importantly - to stimulate communication about the disease. By leveraging the proverb "Hear No Evil, See No Evil and Speak No Evil", the campaign seeks to break the silence about HIV/AIDS and educate and empower young people to do something about it. Organisers are motivated by the belief that silence, ignorance and complacency are the biggest obstacles in the fight to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

As part of the campaign, ALDO has designed a series of limited-edition "empowerment tags" - necklaces with two small, "dog tag"-like metal plates, one that is engraved with either "hear", "see", or "speak" and one that carries the AIDS ribbon symbol. The tags are being sold in ALDO stores worldwide and online for US$5. With 100% of net proceeds benefiting YouthAIDS, the funds will be used educate and protect young people in more than 60 countries by:
  • supporting voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) centres
  • creating programming that relies on empowering peer educators and other communication-focused strategies
  • developing tools (such as culturally-sensitive media campaigns) for HIV prevention
  • carrying out social marketing condom initiatives.
Visitors to the YouthAIDS website may send a free message to friends "to open their eyes to the threat of AIDS". These e-cards feature images of famous musicians/artists wearing the tag in different ways, along with quotations from them (e.g., "Hear, see, and speak about AIDS. It's important - wear the tag."). A photo gallery features images of the celebrities who are taking part and lending their support through various media products - banners, posters, televised public service announcements (PSAs), and public appearances. The simple, dramatic black-and-white photographs feature celebrities with their eyes, ears, or mouth "closed" to the truth of AIDS by tape or their fingers or hands, etc. These images share a common theme: the futility and deep error involved in allowing oneself to be ignorant of, or silent to, the threat of AIDS.
Development Issues
HIV/AIDS, Youth
Key Points
According to YouthAIDS, every 15 seconds, a young person between the ages of 15-24 becomes infected with HIV/AIDS. Fifty percent of all new infections occur among this age group, and most do not know they carry the virus.
Partners

ALDO, YouthAIDS

Sources

YouthAIDS website; ALDO website; and email from YouthAIDS/PSI to The Communication Initiative on July 12 2006.