Organization: UN Children's Fund
Registration deadline: 23 Feb 2017
Starting date: 02 Jan 2017
Ending date: 27 Feb 2017
Create beneficial norms, eliminate harmful ones:
Join UNICEF and the Univeristy of Pennsylvania for the Social Norms, Social Change MOOC
Free and open to anyone interested in positively transforming societies
Next Sessions in 2017:
Part 1: 01/2 – 02/6 Part 2: 01/23 - 02/27 Part 1: 01/30 - 03/6 Part 2: 02/20 - 03/27 Part 1: 02/27 – 04/3 Part 2: 03/20 - 04/24
This free online course explores social norms, the rules that glue societies together. It considers the nature of social norms, how they are formed, how they are supported by expectations, and how they are part of a web of other norms & values that define a local culture. The course then moves to practical questions such as: How do collective expectations support social practices? What happens when legal rules and social norms are in conflict? And how can legal, informational and community engagement strategies be integrated to reach the critical threshold for achieving change? Drawing from UNICEF’s experience in the field, the course includes many examples of norms that sustain behaviors like child marriage, gender violence and poor sanitation practices. Participants learn from field cases of remarkable change in entrenched social practices.
Through lectures, discussions and assignments, participants build practical and theoretical knowledge crucial for effective policy interventions aimed at elimating harmful norms and creating new, beneficial ones.
The course is led by Cristina Bicchieri, the S. J. Patterson Harvie Professor of Philosophy and Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Bicchieri founded Penn SONG, the Penn Social Norms consulting group, and the Behavioral Ethics Lab (BeLab). She has has consulted for organizations such as UNICEF, Wellspring, CARE, BBC Media, the Gates Foundation, the World Bank and DFID.
How to register:
Register now at:
See attached flyer for more information.