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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Virtual March on Washington - United States

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On February 26, 2003, anti-war protesters conducted a "virtual march" on Washington. Hundreds of thousands of people sent anti-war messages by fax and telephone to the United States' Senate and White House. The sponsor of this effort was the Win Without War Coalition; the online headquarters were hosted by coalition member MoveOn.org.
Communication Strategies
As part of this protest effort, people across the United States were urged to send the following message by fax or phone: Don't Invade and Occupy Iraq. The messages could be transmitted by a free fax and/or through phone calls to Congress. The MoveOn.org site provided instructions, a registration form, and a list of talking points for participants. Media were invited to visit the online "antiwar room" online to monitor the constituent march throughout the day.

At the website of The Sierra Club, one of the members of the Win Without War Coalition, visitors were encouraged to send this message to senators: "Don't rush to war. Let the United Nations inspectors do their jobs to resolve the Iraq situation peacefully. And reduce the chance of war in the future by ending the U.S. dependence on oil."

The campaign was endorsed by many regional organisations and networks, which spread news of the march through e-mails, phone calls, and community meetings.
Development Issues
Conflict.
Key Points
On Feb. 15, 2003, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators poured into the streets in cities across the United States, Europe and Asia, protesting the Bush administration's threatened invasion of Iraq. While those protests were largely peaceful, the logistics of organising such conventional demonstrations can be overwhelming.

As of the day of the march, more than 200,000 individuals signed up to make more than 400,000 phone calls and send 100,000 faxes to their Senators and the President.

Win Without War is a coalition of 32 national organisations that have joined together to advocate alternatives to war in Iraq. This coalition hopes to offer a mainstream, patriotic, voice for engaging opinion makers, activating concerned citizens, and communicating to policymakers and the media. Win Without War coalition members have launched TV ad campaigns to voice their opposition to war in Iraq. Click here to view these ads.

MoveOn.org works to bring ordinary people back into politics. It has more than 650,000 subscribers to its e-mail list nationwide. The organisation has collected hundreds of thousands of signatures on petitions to oppose war before the inspection process is finished and has organised meetings between members and congressional leaders. It also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for an ad campaign that began airing in major USA markets.
Partners

Win Without War, which consists of: American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, Campaign for UN Reform, Council for a Livable World, Conference of Major Superiors of Men, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Fourth Freedom ForumGlobal Exchange, Greenpeace, Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), MoveOn, NAACP, National Council of Churches, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, National Organization for Women (NOW), NETWORK A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, Oxfam America, Pax Christi USA, Peace Action, Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), Rainbow/Push Coalition, Sierra Club, Sojourners, Soulforce, The Tikkun Community, TrueMajority, Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society, Us Foundation, Veterans for Common Sense, Women's Action for New Directions (WAND), Working Assets.

Sources

"An Antiwar Demonstration That Does Not Take to the Streets" by John Tierney, The New York Times, February 26, 2002; and MoveOn.org site; and Win Without War site.