Religious and traditional leaders, women, youth and community stakeholders are using dialogue, faith reflection and collective action to address harmful social norms affecting women and girls.

Change often begins with a conversation.

But meaningful social and behavioural change requires more than information. It requires people to listen to one another, reflect on lived experiences, examine the beliefs and practices that shape communities, and create space to imagine a different future.

This is at the heart of the Mind-Heart Dialogue (MHD) approach.

In 2026, the African Council of Religious Leaders – Religions for Peace (ACRL-RfP), working with partners including UNICEF, conducted MHD Skills Trainings in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Malawi. The trainings brought together religious and traditional leaders, women, youth and other community stakeholders to strengthen their capacity to facilitate dialogue around harmful social norms affecting women and girls, particularly female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage.

Across the three countries, the approach connected faith reflection, personal stories, evidence, dialogue, community engagement and practical action.

Sierra Leone: Creating space for difficult conversations

The first of the three trainings was held in Freetown, Sierra Leone,

The training brought together 26 participants, including religious and traditional leaders, women and youth representatives, three Paramount Chiefs, and representatives from UNICEF and UNDP. Participants explored how Mind-Heart Dialogue and the Journey of Change approach could support communities to address harmful social norms through faith-based, culturally responsive and community-led approaches.
The three-day programme moved from understanding harmful social norms to finding resources within faith and ultimately to planning for community-level action.

Participants used storytelling, dialogue circles, facilitation simulations, stakeholder mapping and practical MHD exercises. These methods created opportunities to discuss issues that can be difficult to address openly, including FGM and child marriage.

Personal experiences became an important part of the learning.

Participants reflected on how harmful practices affect girls and families and how religious leaders, traditional leaders, teachers, parents and community influencers can contribute to change. One religious leader and social media influencer with more than 10,000 followers committed to using his platform to advocate against FGM and child marriage and to counter misinformation with evidence and data.

The training also highlighted the importance of language and context. Participants discussed the need to distinguish accurately between cultural or religious terminology and harmful practices, while communicating in ways that are culturally sensitive and rights-based.

The training concluded with community action planning and a strong emphasis on continued mentorship, collaboration and practical follow-up.

Guinea: Listening, reflecting and imagining a different future

The three-day training brought together religious, traditional and community stakeholders to strengthen meaningful community dialogue and positive social and behavioural change, with particular attention to FGM and child marriage.

In Guinea, participants were encouraged to move beyond simply discussing harmful practices and to examine the beliefs, experiences and social expectations that influence them.

The training used personal storytelling, faith reflection, group work, myths and realities, dialogue simulations and action planning. Participants reflected on childhood, their own experiences of faith and the role of sacred teachings in protecting and caring for children.

Evidence was also brought into the conversation.

Participants examined data on FGM and child marriage, explored their drivers and challenges, discussed misinformation and considered how messages could be adapted for different audiences.

One of the central questions was simple but significant:

What future do we want for our daughters?

Participants reflected on the effects of FGM and child marriage on girls’ futures and identified changes they wanted to see in their communities, including changes in parental attitudes, greater support for girls’ empowerment, increased awareness and reductions in harmful practices. Each group developed an action plan, with a commitment to take the MHD approach beyond Conakry.

One participant described the experience by saying that what they had learned “goes straight to the heart”, reflecting how the training deepened knowledge while connecting it with personal experience and commitment.

The training demonstrated the value of bringing religious and traditional leadership into conversations about social norms, while creating space for communities themselves to identify pathways toward change.

Malawi: From dialogue to community action

The third training took place in Lilongwe, Malawi.

Held at Maula Parish, the training brought together religious and traditional leaders, women and youth ToTs and focused on harmful social norms affecting women and girls, including FGM and child marriage. The programme was facilitated by Dr. Rozilla Adhiambo, Regional Advisor – Integral Human Development Programme at ACRL-RfP, with sessions co-facilitated with UNICEF.
The Malawi training placed particular emphasis on how dialogue can be taken into communities.

Through reflective exercises, participants explored how harmful practices affect children and considered the emotional and social realities behind them. A community dialogue circle then provided a space for participants to practise listening to different perspectives and engaging respectfully with differing experiences and opinions.
The training also used practical exercises such as the String Game to demonstrate the complexity of changing established social behaviours and the importance of collaboration, dialogue and collective problem-solving.

Participants then worked through community scenarios from Machinga, Mangochi and Dowa, identifying challenges, possible solutions, positive alternatives, communication channels and key influencers and partners.

The process culminated in 90-day community action plans.

These plans included community dialogue, engagement with religious and traditional leaders, parents, teachers and youth, positive alternatives, girls’ protection and empowerment, communication activities, documentation of change and continued use and cascading of the MHD approach.

The focus therefore moved beyond training participants to strengthening their capacity to support dialogue and action within their own communities.

What connects the three country experiences?

Although the trainings took place in different contexts, several common elements emerged.

Listening before leading

MHD creates space for people to listen to experiences that may otherwise remain unspoken. Personal stories and reflection help participants understand that harmful social norms are not simply abstract issues. They affect relationships, families, children and communities.

Faith as a resource for change

The trainings created space for participants to reflect on teachings and values within their own faith traditions that affirm the dignity, protection and wellbeing of children and communities.

This enables religious leaders to engage harmful practices not only as social issues, but also through the moral and spiritual resources of their communities.

Dialogue as a pathway to change

The approach recognises that changing deeply established social norms requires more than delivering information.

Dialogue allows people to ask questions, listen to different perspectives, examine assumptions and identify possibilities together.

From reflection to action

Across the three trainings, participants were encouraged to move from reflection towards practical community engagement.

In Sierra Leone, participants developed plans for community implementation and identified opportunities for collaboration and follow-up.

In Guinea, participants developed action plans and committed to cascading MHD beyond Conakry.

In Malawi, participants developed 90-day community action plans focused on dialogue, stakeholder engagement, protection and documenting change.

Change is relational

At its core, Mind-Heart Dialogue recognises that social change happens through relationships.

Religious leaders, traditional leaders, women, youth, parents, teachers, government actors and other community stakeholders each have a role to play.

The task is not simply to tell communities what needs to change. It is to create spaces where communities can listen, reflect, understand the consequences of harmful practices and work together towards alternatives.

From training to sustained community action

The three country experiences point to an important next step: training must be connected to continued community engagement.

The Sierra Leone training recommended mentorship and coaching, follow-up visits, a community of practice and continued technical collaboration. Guinea’s experience similarly highlighted the importance of continued coordination, evidence-based messaging and support as participants take the approach into their communities. Malawi’s 90-day action plans provide a practical framework for continuing dialogue, stakeholder engagement and documentation of change.
This is where the journey continues.

The value of Mind-Heart Dialogue is not measured only by what participants learn during a three-day training. It is also reflected in what happens afterwards: the conversations they facilitate, the relationships they strengthen, the questions communities are able to ask, the alternatives they identify and the changes they begin to document.

From mind to heart, from dialogue to action

Across Sierra Leone, Guinea and Malawi, the Mind-Heart Dialogue trainings have created spaces for religious and traditional leaders, women, youth and community stakeholders to engage difficult issues with greater openness, reflection and practical focus.

The journey begins with understanding.

It moves through listening and dialogue.

And it ultimately asks communities to act.

When people are given space to connect knowledge with lived experience, faith with responsibility, and dialogue with action, difficult conversations can become part of a longer journey towards protecting children, empowering girls and transforming harmful social norms.

Mind-Heart Dialogue is about moving from the mind to the heart, and from the heart to collective action.