Shows
Social Norms ChatS2E8: Towards Digital Democracy in Latin AmericaSend a text How can we push for digital rights and protect politicians from online violence? What is the role of platforms, governments and civil society?In this episode of Social Norms Chat, host Cäcilia Riederer seats with Paulina Ibarra, from Fundación Multitudes. Together, they talk about work countering violence against politicians and the how the world we currently live in contributes or not for this phoenomena.Our Recommendation:Political Leadership Norms and Women in PoliticsIn case you are interested in finding out more abo...
2026-02-1839 min
Social Norms ChatS2E7: Faith, Power, and Violence PreventionSend us a text How can we use faith leadership to change social norms? What happens when faith leaders challenge violence? In this episode of Social Norms Chat, host Cäcilia Riederer seats with Uwezo Baghuma Lele, from Tearfund. They talk about faith leaders as potential agents of norms change, evidence of impact in conflict-affected contexts and the challenges of faith-based engagement. And more: with first-hand facilitation stories that can inspire your work too. Our Recommendation:Deep Dive: A Country-Specific Exploration of Evidence Addressing Gender Norms through Programming with Men...
2026-02-0438 min
Social Norms ChatS2E6: Using Artificial Intelligence Tools for Behavior ChangeSend us a textHow can we smartly use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools at behavior change initiatives?In this episode of Social Norms Chat, host Cäcilia is joined by Sarah Osman, from Osman Advisory Services. They talk about the recent evolution of technologies, good practices and innovations. Our Recommendation:AI uses in behavior change & social projectsGRIT - Gender Rights in TechSarah's Recommendations:LeLapaCanva's AI data communication toolsLovableFa...
2026-01-2142 min
Social Norms ChatS2E5: Strengthening Capacities for Gender Norms ChangeSend us a text How can we build and strengthen capacities in order to promote gender norms change?In this episode of Social Norms Chat, host Cäcilia is joined by Lori Heise, from Prevention Collaborative. They talk about gender norms, violence prevention, and how practitioners can effectively design programs for social change. Our Recommendation:Transforming Gender Norms for Violence Prevention, an accessible and comprehensive course by Prevention Collaborative. In the episode, we also mentioned the article Theory and practice of social norms interventions: eight common pitfalls, by L...
2026-01-0741 min
Social Norms ChatS2E4: Changing Norms from the Inside OutSend us a text What can be do inside your organization to help you better drive changes in the outside?In this episode of Social Norms Chat, host Cäcilia, Helene Wolf and Anusha Bharadwaj, Co-Executive Directors at Fair Share of Women Leaders talk about feminist leadership and how internal changes in organizations can drive good change for everyone.Our Recommendation:Feminist Project Management offers tools and insights on every step of the project management cycle and how can you implement feminist practices, collective decision making, and feminist ways to...
2025-12-1048 min
Social Norms ChatS2E3: Tackling Online Gender Base ViolenceSend us a textWhat do social and gender norms have to do with online gender-based violence and what can we do to tackle it? In this episode of Social Norms Chat, host Cäcilia and Chioma Agwuegbo, Executive Director at TechHerNG, talk about how important it is and how to tackle techonology facilitated violence.Our Recommendation:Transforming Social Norms ToolkitThis toolkit by TransformNorms is perfect to think about your next social norms intervention, either on your own or as a brainstorming tool with your team. By...
2025-11-2651 min
Social Norms ChatS2E2: Entertainment-Education and Behavior ChangeSend us a text 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 UNICEFThis toolkit offe...
2025-11-1243 min
Social Norms ChatS2E1: Laws and Norms: Bridging Policy and Social Change in South AsiaSend us a text 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 collabor...
2025-10-2941 min
Social Norms ChatS1E10: Funding Girls’ Rights: Rethinking Power and ImpactSend us a text 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...
2025-08-0651 min
Social Norms ChatS1E9: Changing Norms Through StorytellingSend us a text 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 abou...
2025-07-2340 min
Social Norms ChatS1E8: Transforming Mental Health Norms in KenyaSend us a text 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 exp...
2025-07-0938 min
Social Norms ChatS1E7: Engaging Adolescents for Change in IndiaSend a text 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 com...
2025-06-2540 min
Social Norms ChatS1E6: Shaping Narratives – Media for Norms Change in TanzaniaSend a text 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 na...
2025-06-1137 min
Social Norms ChatS1E5: Five Myths About Norms and Behavior ChangeSend a text 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 pr...
2025-05-2847 min
Social Norms ChatS1E4: Mapping Norms - Formative ResearchSend a text 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 NepalThe Social Norms Exploration ToolResources for meas...
2025-05-1447 min
Social Norms ChatS1E3: People & Norms - Reference Groups, Rolemodels and ChampionsSend a text 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 - BandeberehoFemale genital cutting in the Gambia: a case for TostanDynamics of change in the practice of female genital cutting in Senegambia: Testing predictions of social convention theoryIf you want to read more about Refere...
2025-04-3043 min
Social Norms ChatS1E2: What are Social Norms?Send a text What are social norms, where do they come from, and why do we follow them even when they go against our personal beliefs? In Social Norms Chat’s second episode, Sohail Agha and Cäcilia Riederer go through the concept and the theory behind it. Download our Toolkit: bit.ly/transformnormsguide If you want to read more about Social Norms, check out:The Social Norms Atlas: Understanding global social norms and related concepts - Social Norms Learning Collaborative. Available here: https://www.alignplatform.org/resources/social-norms-atlas-understanding-global-social-norms-and-related-concepts Social Norms - by L...
2025-04-1638 min
Social Norms ChatS1E1: Aspiration and BehaviorsSend a text What are behaviors and why are they so important for social norms change? In Social Norms Chat’s very first episode, Sohail Agha and Cäcilia Riederer go through the concept of behavior and the theory behind it. Download our Toolkit: bit.ly/transformnormsguide The resources mentioned in the episode are: Fogg Model https://behaviormodel.org/ Saleema Program https://www.unicef.org/sudan/saleema-initiative If you have any question, feedback or insights please feel free to email us at caecilia@apolitic...
2025-04-0237 min
2025-03-1400 min