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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Computer Based Functional Literacy (CBFL) Programme - India

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Organised by Tata Consultancy Services, the Computer Based Functional Literacy (CBFL) Programme aims to use technology to address the needs of illiterate adult populations in rural slum areas around major cities in India. Focusing primarily on reading skills, the programme has recently expanded into Guntur District, where 415 computers have been installed. The purpose of the programme is to supplement and facilitate the governmental National Literacy Mission/State Literacy Mission.
Communication Strategies
Making use of the primers developed by the government programmes, 400-450 commonly used words are selected. A puppet show method then serves as the foundation for stories, music, and pictures that are meant to be interesting for adult learners (ages 20 to 50). Many of these learners have missed schooling and are speaking some dialect of their mother tongue.

To aid in this effort, the project has made use of Tata Consultancy Services' used computers. In addition, newspapers and posters are used to help learners recognise words.
Development Issues
Education, Technology.
Key Points
CBFL was first implemented in the village Beeramgudda in Medak District of Andhra Pradesh. Following that initial experiment, an extended experiment was carried out in 80 centres in four districts of Andhra Pradesh: Medak, Visakhapatnam, Guntur, and Vijayawada. CBFL is also being carried out in Tamil near Chennai in Tamilnadu. Planned expansion includes (in Marathi) a site near Pune and (in Hindi) Ramakrishna Mission Home of Service, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh and Guna District in Madhya Pradesh. A programme in Bengali for West Bengal is also in the works.

During the extended experiment stage through the beginning of 2002, approximately 5500 people became literate as a result of the programme. It is expected that CBFL will help 8000 people become literate by the end of 2002.
Sources

Letter sent to Bytes-for-All-Readers list server April, 2002; and letter from Major General B.G. Shively to The Communication Initiative on July 30, 2002.