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How 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 projects

GRIT - Gender Rights in Tech

Sarah's Recommendations:

LeLapa

Canva's AI data communication tools

Lovable

Farmer Chat, from Digital Green

UNDP Panama - AI for cocreation

Jakaranda Health

Use along the Transforming Social Norms Toolkit.

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Executive producer and host: Cäcilia Riederer
Special guest: Sarah Osman
Producer and writer: Dora Ehrlich
Editor: Dora Ehrlich

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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 Lori Heise and Ben Cislaghi.

Lori's Recommendations:

Book: The Bone People, by Keri Hulme.

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: Lori Heise
Producer and writer: Dora Ehrlich
Editor: Tabusum Akter

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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 understand monitoring and evaluation.

Check out the toolkit "Feminist Leaders for Feminist Goals" and the Feminist Leadership Hub from Fair Share.

Anusha's and Helene's Recommendations:

Book: Seeing Like a Feminist by Nivedita Menon

The Feminist Leadership Project

Podcast: Guilty Feminist

Podcast: Lead Like a Feminist

The 12-week Feminist Leadership Programme, by We Are Feminist Leaders

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

Executive producer and host: Cäcilia Riederer
Special guest: Helene Wolf and Anusha Bharadwaj
Producer and writer: Dora Ehrlich
Editor: Tabusum Akter

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What 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 Toolkit

This 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 filling in gaps into a fillable and shareable PDF, you’ll slowly build a theory of change.

Check out Kuram: https://kuramng.org/

Chioma's Recommendation:

Catching the Tinder Predator

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Tales of Extraordinary Women

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

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

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, Regional Representative 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