Soul Beat Africa
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 lainiciativadecomunicacion.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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Why Poverty?

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With the goal of building a global movement that will address the structural issues around poverty and inequality, Why Poverty? is a cross-media initiative working to reach more than 500 million people around the world via television, radio, internet, and live events in November 2012. It consists of several one-hour-long and 30-minute-long documentary films to be distributed via broadcasters, the internet, and mobile platforms. The films tackle issues like food security, inequality, globalisation, education, gender equality, maternity and child mortality, the conditions into which children are born, corruption, climate change, the effectiveness of global aid, and the effects of disease and wars. The non-commercial event is produced by STEPS International and is being created with the BBC and DR/Danish Broadcasting Corporation.

Communication Strategies

Why Poverty? draws on involving filmmakers in the creation of "bold and provocative factual films" in an effort to produce narratives that inspire people to think and be part of the solution. The cross-media strategy is designed to bring together broadcasters worldwide and engage with a wide and diverse audience. The initiative also involves development of a global outreach campaign, supplementing the broadcasts with extra teaching materials, such as a Facilitator's Guide, in which people will find basic information about the issues addressed by the films, questions designed to promote discussions and debates, as well as an explanation of the STEPS methodology on how to use films to inspire social change. Finally, there is an advocacy component: engaging with decision-makers and influencers to find solutions for change.

 

For example, the long film "Solar Mamas" (see trailer below) asks: Are women better at getting out of poverty than men? "The Barefoot College takes uneducated middle-aged women from poor communities and trains them to become solar engineers and so create power and jobs in their communities. The college's 6-month programme brings together women from all over the world. Learning about electrical components and soldering without being able to read, write or understand English is the easy part..."

 

In conjunction with the films and as part of this effort to initiate a global discussion about poverty, STEPS invited activists and ordinary people to ask provocative questions about poverty through Why Poverty's Facebook page.



To find out more about the documentaries, visit the Why Poverty website.

Trailer of "Solar Mamas" documentary:

Development Issues

Economic Development.

Key Points

In March 2013, Why Poverty? received a Peabody Award, which recognises distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organisations, and individuals. For more information, click here.

Partners

A number of public broadcasters are involved in developing Why Poverty? In addition, the initiative is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Bertha Foundation, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, The Open University, Danida, the Danish Film Institute, the Swedish Film Institute, CBA WorldView, and the EBU (European Broadcasting Union).

Sources

Emails from Don Edkins to The Communication Initiative on August 27 2012 and April 2 2013; email from Paula Gutierrez to The Communication Initiative on September 19 2012; and Why Poverty website, September 14 2012.