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African development action with informed and engaged societies
Soul Beat Africa
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 cila.comminitcila.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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MTV's Choose or Lose Campaign Nigeria

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In January 2011 MTV, the global music channel, launched its first pro-democracy campaign in Africa ahead of the Nigerian elections. The Choose or Lose voter mobilisation campaign was designed to encourage and empower young Nigerians to exercise their right to vote through a series of television promotional spots and the release of a special music video. Choose or Lose in Nigeria is part of the global Choose or Lose campaign which was first launched in 1992 and is part of MTV's on-going social responsibility campaign.

Communication Strategies

The Nigerian campaign included two key activities designed to encourage voter interest and action.

Promotional spots
To maximise youth voter registration for the April 2011 elections, MTV launched a series of television promotional spots on African music channel MTV base and on the MTV base blocks on Nigerian terrestrial TV partners STV and African Independent Television (AIT). The spots urged Nigerian youth to determine their future and register in time to ensure Nigeria's largest ever youth voter turnout.

Music video
A key component of the initiative included the release of a special music video by Nigerian contemporary musicians entitled "Rep 4 Naija". The track, which MTV describes as an upbeat hip hop/R&B number, was a collaboration between Nigerian celebrities eLDee, Sound Sultan, Black Twang, Naeto C, D'banj, and M.I.

According to MTV Networks Africa, a huge percentage of the Nigerian population is under the age of 24, and "Choose or Lose" is designed to remind young people that they should take their civic responsibilities seriously and play a part in determining who should lead them.

Development Issues

Political empowerment

Key Points

MTV's global “Choose or Lose” campaign was designed to inform and empower young voters on the political issues that matter to them most, and to provide a platform for airing their views. According to MTV, the campaign helped fuel several of the largest youth voter turnouts in United States history, including in 2004, when it helped inspire nearly 22 million 18-30 year olds to register and vote. MTV says the campaign has successfully engaged youth voters in many other countries around the world including Mexico’s 2006 Pesidential election. In many countries the campaign also included initiatives such as “MTV Base Meets” – a platform where young people are given the opportunity to interact directly with politicians.

Sources

MTV website on January 22 2011.