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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Voices of an Illness - United States

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Lichtenstein Creative Media (LCM) created and produced a 3-part radio documentary series in 1992 to provide a window on serious mental illness. "Voices of an Illness" focuses on clinical depression, manic depression (bipolar disorder), and schizophrenia, featuring people who have recovered telling their own stories in their own words. The series aired on National Public Radio stations across the United States; brief portions of the series may be listed to on the Internet, and cassettes and transcripts are available.
Communication Strategies
This documentary primarily used the medium of radio to share the personal stories of people who have experienced mental illness. While some of those whose voices were featured on the programmes are average citizens, each of the 3 hosts was a prominent personality in American entertainment. Each programme was one hour long. Specifically:
Development Issues
Mental Health.
Key Points
This 3-part series was created by LCM founder and president Bill Lichtenstein as a way of relating his own experience following his recovery from manic depression. After mental illness impeded his career in network news, Lichtenstein created his own media company to focus on issues of social justice, human rights, and mental health.

As stated on the LCM website, "The Voices of an Illness series has been honored with 23 major broadcast journalism and mental health awards, including the George Foster Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcasting, television and radio's highest honor. The series also received top honors from the National Institute of Mental Health, the American Psychiatric Association, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the National Mental Health Association, the National Easter Seal Society and the American Medical Writers Association...More than 40,000 copies of the Voices of an Illness programs have been distributed to people with a psychiatric disability, families, clinicians, journalists, libraries, schools, media, mental health groups and others."

Click here for information on purchasing copies of the radio programmes on audio cassette or as printed transcripts.
Partners

"Clinical Depression" was funded by: Center for Mental Health Services of the U.S. Public Health Service, van Ameringen Foundation, Inc., The Sihler Mental Health Foundation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, MCC Behavioral Care, Inc., CMHC Systems, Inc., National Institute of Mental Health, The Burton D. Morgan Foundation, Glaxo Wellcome, Inc., Nationwide Communications, Inc., The Stocker Foundation, Magellan Health Services, Inc.


"Manic-Depression" was funded by: Abbott Laboratories, The Matz Foundation-Edelman Division, CMHC Systems, Inc., American Mental Health Fund, The Foundation for Depression and Manic Depression, New York Mood Disorder Support Group.


"Schizophrenia" was funded by: The Sihler Mental Health Foundation, Janssen Pharmaeutica, van Ameringen Foundation, National Institute of Mental Health, Center for Mental Health Services of the U.S. Public Health Service, Ohio Department of Mental Health, The Upjohn Company, Essel Foundation, Nationwide Communications, Inc., Woodruff Foundation, Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Zeneca Pharmaceuticals Group, The Stocker Foundation, Long Island Jewish Hospital, Edelman Foundation.

Sources

Brown Alumni Magazine January/February 2004 and the LCM website.