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How can governments work towards behavior change, using social norms frameworks?

In this season's finale, host Cäcilia Riederer seats with Gwen Dereymaeker and Cameron Cyster, former and current servants at the Western Cape Government. Together, they talk about how government decisions shape everyday life, challenges, good examples and the impact of social norms on health policy.

Recommendations by Gwen and Cameron:

• Nudge - Richard Thaler and Cass Sustein
• Better Politics Podcast
• Inside the Manosphere (2026)

Social Norms Chat is taking a break after this season where we welcomed amazing guests. During our break, don't hesitate to reach out via LinkedIn and listen to all 22 episodes available!

Use along 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: Gwen Dereymaeker and Cameron Cyster
Producer and writer: Dora Ehrlich
Editor: Tabussum Akter

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How can collective action be triggered and maintained at scale and how can we use that for change?

In this episode of Social Norms Chat, host Cäcilia Riederer seats with Györgyi Galik, from Dark Matter Labs / Governing Together. Together, they talk about innovations at the local level, focusing on citizen participation and its importance.

Check Governing Together's summary introduction here.

Mentions and Recommendations made by Györgyi:

• Caroline Lucas
• Kate Crawford
• Chris Anderson
• Olga Kusinskaya (2023) The Politics of Invisibility Public Knowledge about Radiation Health Effects after Chernobyl
• Holly Buck (2024) A Climate Disinformation Focus Takes Us the Wrong Way
  
  

More about relationality, one of the main concepts mentioned during this episode:

Relationality refers to the underlying web of relationship dynamics, interactions, and exchanges through which governance actually happens. It is not an add-on to institutions or processes. It is the condition within which they operate. At its core, relationality recognises that:

• people, institutions, and systems are interdependent and entangled
• outcomes emerge from patterns of interaction, not only from individuals, intentions, formal decisions, norms, or structures
• governance is shaped as much by how we relate as by what we decide

Relationality might include:

• Relationships between people and groups
  Trust, mistrust, care, conflict, reciprocity
• Flows and exchanges
  Information, resources, power, attention, legitimacy
• Feedback loops
  How we learn, iterate, and how signals travel, are interpreted, and influence present and future action
• Collective sense-making
  How shared understanding is formed, contested, and stabilised
• Institutional arrangements
  The formal and informal rules that shape how interactions happen
• Value logics
  What is considered valid, important, or legitimate within a system
• Everyday practices and enactment
  How daily practices are implemented and exercised through the design of ‘soft infrastructures’ – tools, processes, and practices that translate intentions and policies into institutional capacity

Follow us on LinkedIn - and message us if you have questions, suggestions or comments!

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

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What is the importance of supporting leadership development?

In this episode of Social Norms Chat, host Cäcilia Riederer seats with Caren Wakoli, from Emerging Leaders Foundation. Together, they talk about the role of mentorship, value-driven leadership and TransformNorms, a fellowship programme that is co-hosted with Emerging Leaders.

Our Recommendation:

TransformNorms Toolkit: in order to use it, download it and open it on a PDF reader in order to fill in the gaps. In case you fill it out and want to send us your final result or ask questions, feel free to reach out on transformnorms@betterpolitics.foundation.

Caren's Recommendation:

The Impossible Dream - Man of La Mancha

Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela

Invictus (2009)

Follow us on LinkedIn - and message us if you have questions, suggestions or comments!

Executive producer and host: Cäcilia Riederer
Special guest: Caren Wakoli
Producer and writer: Dora Ehrlich
Editor: Dora Ehrlich