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 How can we use Entertainment to drive behavior? And more importantly, how can we measure this impact?

 In this episode of Social Norms Chat, host Cäcilia and Amy Henderson Riley, Director of Research, Evaluation, and Impact at Population Media Center, Education-Entertainment (EE), Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) and monitoring and evaluation.

 This conversation highlights different evaluation methods and different ways to foster behavior change through entertainment.

Our Recommendation:

Participatory Research Toolkit for Social Norms Measurement, by UNICEF

This toolkit offers nine participatory tools for qualitatively measuring social norms,
emphasizing the importance of engaging participants in sensitive discussions to
deepen understanding and inform social and behavioral change interventions.

Amy's Research:

Narrative Persuasion and Social Norms in Entertainment-Education: Results from a Radio Drama in Mozambique

Participatory Methods for Entertainment-Education: Analysis of Best Practices

Amy's Recommendation:

Papás Por Conveniencia

📖 Use alongside the Transforming Social Norms Toolkit
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Executive producer and host: Cäcilia Riederer
Special guest: Amy Henderson Riley
Producer and writer: Dora Ehrlich
Editor: Tabusum Akter

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 What comes first—laws or social change?

 In this episode of Social Norms Chat, host Cäcilia sits down with Julie Thekkudan, South Asia Consultant for Equality Now in South Asia, to explore the powerful and often complex interplay between social norms, legal reform, and justice systems.

 Julie shares her personal journey into women’s rights advocacy, beginning with childhood observations that sparked a lifelong commitment to equality. Together, they unpack how patriarchal norms, biases in law enforcement, and deep-rooted societal attitudes affect survivors of gender-based violence, and how collaborative regional initiatives like Samaj (South Asian Movement for Accessing Justice) are striving to change that.

 This conversation shines a light on both the barriers and breakthroughs in advancing gender equality across South Asia, offering inspiration for advocates and policymakers around the world.

Our Recommendation:

Theory and practice of social norms interventions: eight common
pitfalls - Beniamino Cislaghi and Lori Heise
The paper highlights eight common pitfalls in social norms interventions, offering
guidance on avoiding these challenges to effectively promote health and behavior
change in low- and middle-income countries.

Julie's Recommendations:

Unbelievable – a series exploring the challenges survivors face in seeking justice

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood – a thought-provoking look at gender and power

📖 Use alongside the Transforming Social Norms Toolkit
Follow us on LinkedIn - and message us if you have questions, suggestions or comments!

Executive producer and host: Cäcilia Riederer
Special guest: Julie Thekkudan
Producer and writer: Dora Ehrlich
Editor: Tabusum Akter

Special thanks to Aakansha Saxena and Bryna Subherwal for their support in making this episode happen. 

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 What happens when funders truly trust communities—and build long-term, flexible support around their leadership?

In Episode 10 of Social Norms Chat, Cäcilia Riederer speaks with Jama Jack, Senior Communications Officer at Girls First Fund, about rethinking philanthropy and power in the fight for gender justice. From her early activism (at Lend a Hand Society) in the Gambia to her current work supporting community-based organizations to end child marriage, Jama shares how movements grow, how funding can help or hinder progress, and why self-care is critical to sustainable change.

This episode explores, among other things, how funders can support deep social norms change by reimagining their own roles.

Recommended or mentioned in this episode:

- Black Sisters, Speak Out (1996)

- International Children's Broadcasting Day

Follow Jama Jack on LinkedIn.

📖 Use alongside the Transforming Social Norms Toolkit
Follow us on LinkedIn - and message us if you have questions, suggestions or comments!

Executive producer and host: Cäcilia Riederer
Special guest: Jama Jack
Producer and writer: Dora Ehrlich
Editor: Tabusum Akter

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 In this episode of Social Norms Chat, Cäcilia speaks with Georgia Arnold, former Executive Director of the MTV Staying Alive Foundation and founder of the GA-Agency. Georgia has spent decades using the power of storytelling to challenge social norms, particularly around HIV, gender, and sexuality.

She shares how groundbreaking shows like Shuga—MTV’s scripted drama tackling topics from HIV prevention to gender-based violence—have not only entertained millions across Africa but measurably shifted behaviors and perceptions. 

At its heart, this episode is a reminder that storytelling isn’t just about representation—it’s about shifting mindsets and shaping futures.

🔗 Georgia’s Mentions:

• Meeting Mandela
  
  
• MTV Shuga Mashariki
  
  
• The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
  
  
• Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  
  
• Adolescence on Netflix
  
  

📖 Use alongside the Transforming Social Norms Toolkit
Follow us on LinkedIn - and message us if you have questions, suggestions or comments!

Executive producer and host: Cäcilia Riederer
Special guest: Georgia Arnold
Producer and writer: Dora Ehrlich
Editor: Tabusum Akter

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 In this episode of Social Norms Chat, Cäcilia sits down with Amisa Rashid, founder of the Nivishe Foundation, a grassroots organization working to make mental health care accessible, dignified, and culturally sensitive in Kenya—particularly for marginalized communities.

Amisa shares the powerful story behind Nivishe’s founding, rooted in her personal experiences growing up in the Nubian community in Kibra. She discusses how lack of identification documents and systemic marginalization compound mental health challenges, and how Nivishe has stepped in to fill critical gaps through community-based, inclusive support.

We explore the impact of the Nivishe Mental Health Fellowship, which decentralizes mental health advocacy by training young leaders to address issues within their own communities, using culturally relevant approaches. Amisa explains how social norms—especially religious interpretations of mental health—have shaped access to care, and how Nivishe strategically works in communities to shift perceptions and reduce stigma.

From launching Kenya’s first youth-focused mental health comic book to preparing the first mental health policy brief for Nairobi County, Amisa discusses Nivishe's multi-layered approach to driving long-term change.

Amisa reminds us that changing social norms takes time—and deep love for the work. It’s not about quick wins, but sustained impact over generations.

🔗 Amisa's Recommendations

• Amisa Rashid on LinkedIn
• Social Norms Chat

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Executive producer and host: Cäcilia Riederer
Special guest: Amisa Rashid
Producer and writer: Dora Ehrlich
Editor: Tabusum Akter

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 How can we engage adolescents in conversations about gender, power, and social change—and support them in becoming agents of change in their communities?

In Episode 7 of Social Norms Chat, Cäcilia Riederer speaks with Nayana Chowdhury, CEO of Breakthrough India, about how the organization has built large-scale programs to shift harmful gender norms among adolescents. Drawing from Breakthrough’s flagship initiative Taaron Ki Toli, Nayana shares lessons from working with youth, communities, and schools across India to create long-term, norm-shifting change.

Whether you're working on youth engagement, gender justice, or community-led programming, this conversation offers inspiration and practical ideas for doing the work sustainably—and with heart.

📖 Use alongside the Transforming Social Norms Toolkit
Program mentioned: Taaron Ki Toli – Breakthrough India
Follow Nayana on LinkedIn
Read more about Nayana’s journey as a TransformNorms Fellow

Recommended by Nayana
🎥 Stree (2018): Watch the trailer
📱 Man Who Has It All – Satirical Facebook Page
🎧 Keeping It Feminist, a podcast by Breakthrough Trust

Executive producer and host: Cäcilia Riederer
 Special guest: Nayana Chowdhury
 Producer and writer: Dora Ehrlich
 Editor: Tabusum Akter

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 How can media support long-term social norms change?

In Episode 6 of Social Norms Chat, Cäcilia Riederer is joined by Anna Bwana, Country Director of BBC Media Action Tanzania, to explore how storytelling, mass media, and digital platforms can challenge harmful norms and promote positive change. Drawing on years of experience with media initiatives like Niambie, Anna shares what it takes to build trust, adapt to evolving contexts, and keep young people at the center of social impact work.

Whether you're building campaigns, supporting media development, or trying to shift narratives in your own community, this conversation offers grounded insights into what works—and what to watch out for.

References and projects we mentioned:

Niambie

Women Talking

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Follow Anna Bwana on Linkedin

Got feedback or ideas? Email us at [email protected]
 Website: transformnorms.com
 LinkedIn: TransformNorms

Executive producer and host: Cäcilia Riederer
Special guest: Anna Bwana 
Producer and writer: Dora Ehrlich
Editor: Tabusum Akter

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 What are the most common misconceptions about how social norms and behaviors interact—and how can they mislead even well-intentioned change-makers?

In Episode 5 of Social Norms Chat, Cäcilia Riederer and Dr. Sohail Agha bust five big myths that often show up in the world of social and behavior change. From the myth of a one-way relationship between norms and behaviors to the oversimplification of how change happens, this episode is a reality check for anyone working to shift harmful norms or design effective interventions.

Whether you're designing a program, evaluating outcomes, or trying to make sense of social change in your own community, these five takeaways are essential tools for thinking clearly—and acting effectively.

📖 Use alongside the Transforming Social Norms Toolkit

Post we mentioned:

Involving Fathers in Children's Nutrition

Got feedback or ideas? Email us at [email protected]
Website: transformnorms.com
LinkedIn: TransformNorms

Executive producer and host: Cäcilia Riederer
 Special guest: Dr. Sohail Agha
 Producer and writer: Dora Ehrlich
 Editor: Tabusum Akter

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 How do we identify social norms in a community before designing interventions? In Social Norms Chat’s fourth episode, Cäcilia Riederer and Dr. Sohail Agha dive into the role of formative research in mapping social norms. They unpack how to make sure to ask the right questions and how to design a doable but helpful formative research.

Projects and articles we mentioned:
Change Starts at Home: Baseline report of a trial to prevent intimate partner violence among married couples in Nepal
The Social Norms Exploration Tool
Resources for measuring social norms: a practical guide for programme implementers

Download our Transforming Social Norms Toolkit: bit.ly/transformnormsguide
Check out Sohail’s insights on his LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohail-agha/
If you have any question, feedback or insights please feel free to email us at [email protected]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/transformnormsWebsite: https://transformnorms.com/

Executive producer and host: Cäcilia Riederer
Special guest: Dr. Sohail Agha
Producer and writer: Dora Ehrlich
Editor: Tabusum Akter

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 What are reference groups, both in theory and in practice? In Social Norms Chat’s third episode, Sohail Agha and Cäcilia Riederer go through the ideas of role models, champions and reference groups. Download our Toolkit: bit.ly/transformnormsguide 

Projects and articles we mentioned: 

Prevention Collaborative - Bandebereho

Female genital cutting in the Gambia: a case for Tostan

Dynamics of change in the practice of female genital cutting in Senegambia: Testing predictions of social convention theory

If you want to read more about Reference Groups, check out:

1. Participatory Research Toolkit for Social Norms Measurement, UNFPA and UNICEF: https://www.unfpa.org/resources/participatory-research-toolkit-social-norms-measurement

Check out Sohail’s insights on his LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohail-agha/ 

If you have any question, feedback or insights please feel free to email us at [email protected]

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/transformnorms 

Website: https://transformnorms.com/ 

Executive producer and host: Cäcilia Riederer

Special guest: Dr. Sohail Agha

Producer and writer: Dora Ehrlich

Editor: Tabusum Akter