Our impact

We pride ourselves in having our work constantly evaluated. Here is a selection of the most noteworthy conclusions.

In a one-year experimental study published in 2009, Paluck showed RLB’s significant successes in shifting social norms among its audience.

Findings from the study indicate that regular exposure to Musekeweya led to a 10-percentage-point decrease in individuals advising their children to marry within their own group. Listeners also exhibited greater trust towards others, challenging the notion that trust is naïve. Additionally, audience members were more likely to voice their opinions when they disagreed with something and showed less tendency to blindly follow authority.

The soap opera also fostered increased empathy toward marginalized groups, including prisoners, genocide survivors, the poor, and political figures. Lastly, it’s audience was more likely to believe it’s important to speak about trauma.

After one year of exposure to Musekeweya, the program had shifted it’s audience’s perceptions about social norms, which in turn led to measurable changes in behavior.

Kogen & Price conducted an assessment of our impact and an evaluation of our work’s adaptability after ten years of projects in Burundi, the DRC and Rwanda.

Similar to the earlier report, this study found that RLB’s audience experienced positive shifts in social norms, including increased trust, healthier ways of dealing with trauma and intermarriage, greater awareness of the dangers of scapegoating, more active bystandership, and a deeper understanding of complex historical truths.