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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Southern African Non-Governmental Organisation Network (SANGONeT) - Southern Africa

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Founded in 1987, the Southern African NGO Network (SANGONeT) works to offer civil society organisations information and communication technology (ICT) products and services. Its ICT services and interventions are designed to strengthen the capacity of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to find long-term solutions in response to Southern Africa’s development challenges by facilitating access, sharing information, building capacity, raising awareness, enhancing reach and impact, and linking people and organisations through the use of ICTs in Southern Africa.
Communication Strategies

SANGONeT’s activities centre around three interrelated programme areas:

  • Civil Society Information Services
  • ICT Services
  • ICT Advocacy



During the past few years SANGONeT has conceptualised and implemented the following ICT initiatives in support of the NGO sector in South Africa, and increasingly in the rest of Southern Africa:

  • Thetha: The Sangonet ICT Discussion Forum - Thetha forums are designed to provide NGOs with the opportunity to discuss ICT issues of common concern at both provincial and national levels. It also works to assist Southern African civil society organisations (CSOs) to use information communication technologies (ICTs) to respond to challenges and opportunities presented in their day-to-day work. The overall goal is to raise awareness and inform a wide range of national, regional, and international stakeholders, including CSOs, about ICT challenges and opportunities that face Southern Africa.
  • SANGONET "ICTs for Civil Society" Conference and Exhibition - this annual event, first held in March 2005, presents NGOs with an important opportunity to reflect on the challenges and opportunities presented by ICTs.
  • NGO Pulse - launched in October 2005, this portal provides a gateway to the South African NGO sector. It includes the Prodder NGO and Development Directory, as well as the weekly NGO Pulse e-newsletter. NGO Pulse is intended to be a one-stop internet information resource for and about the NGO sector in South Africa, providing a media platform for development news, commentary, and debate. It also aims to promote interaction and networking in the development sector. The Prodder NGO Directory is an online directory of NGOs and development organisations in South Africa. It forms part of SANGONET’s work to support local and regional development processes.
  • SANGOTECH - This online technology donation portal, launched in December 2006, aims to assist NGOs by providing software and hardware in conjunction with ICT donor partners.
  • South African NGO Web Awards - First held in 2006, this annual competition is run in conjunction with SANGONET’s annual conference and aims to raise awareness among NGOs about the benefits of having a web presence, stimulate interest in the application of web solutions and applications, and showcase practices in website creation and maintenance.
  • The State of ICTs in the South African NGO Sector - this annual research project, first implemented in 2007, aims to analyse the South African NGO sector’s application and awareness of ICTs in support of achieving its strategic objectives.
  • Citizen Journalism in Africa project - This 3-year project, implemented in conjunction with Hivos in 6 African countries, aims to improve the technical and journalistic capacity of African NGOs to use a mixture of traditional and digital media strategically and with journalistic professionalism to support democratic processes and a diverse and independent media environment.
  • NGO CEO Circle/NGO CEO Summit - SANGONET initiated the CEO Circle in 2006 to create a space within the leadership of the NGO sector in Gauteng to discuss common institutional and strategic development issues on a regular basis.
Development Issues

Information Communication Technologies

Sources

SANGONeT website on February 16 2009.