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 lainiciativadecomunicacion.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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NABUUR

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NABUUR Foundation, a non-profit organisation based in The Netherlands, is an online volunteering platform that links Neighbours (online volunteers) with Villages (local communities) in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Connected through Nabuur.com, neighbours and local communities learn about each other, share ideas, and find sustainable solutions to local issues. This "global neighbourhood" is designed as a web platform where community representatives from developing countries can sketch the local situation and describe their efforts to improve it. Virtual visitors are invited to select a village in order to gain information on issues affecting a particular community. They may register to become Neighbours.
Communication Strategies

Connected through NABUUR website, Neighbours and local communities learn about each other, share ideas, and find sustainable solutions to local issues. The website facilitates access to Neighbours around the globe who help community members design tailor-made solutions, to the end of fostering a sense of resilience among local people. Associated aims include helping those in rural communities connect with others by making their needs explicit and by playing a role in tapping into intellectual, spiritual, and tangible resources. In short, the purpose of the project is to develop a "Nabuur community".

 

There are also thematic groups focusing on issues including water and sanitation, education, fundraising, and storytelling. Here participants can find news about village projects and tasks, monitor project implementation, and post questions or comments. Using the internet and short message service (SMS) telephony, NABUUR allows communities gain access to a large pool of volunteers.

 

With the help of an online facilitator, each project is broken down into tasks that can be done by online volunteers.  For example, volunteers can be asked to find information on specific irrigation techniques, help write a business plan, build a website, translate a document, arrange equipment, or find examples of how a problem was solved by others. Topics include: improving crop irrigation, developing a regional bee-keeping business, or setting up a dairy cooperative. The focus is not on donating money, but on sharing knowledge, ideas, and contacts. This approach leaves the initiative in the hands of the villages. Elements of social networking are described here: "NABUUR is a typical Web 2.0 site, combining crowd sourcing (Wikipedia, Howtopedia), social networking (Facebook, Xing), and self-organising (Change.org, Pledgebank)."

Development Issues

Health, Children, Women, Agriculture, HIV/AIDS, Environment.

Key Points

NABUUR, the Dutch word for "neighbour", is a Dutch non-profit foundation. NABUUR hopes eventually to be able to service an unlimited number of locations simultaneously.

Sources

The NABUUR website, accessed on December 12 2002 and January 30 2012.