With over 130 million people forcibly displaced worldwide, 85% hosted in low- and middle-income countries, the global refugee crisis increasingly tests the limits of public systems and social cohesion. In Kenya, reforms like the 2021 Refugees Act and the Shirika Plan seek to promote refugee integration, yet face significant political obstacles rooted in public opposition, particularly in non-hosting regions where attitudes are shaped by rumor and stereotype rather than direct experience. To address these challenges, researchers are partnering with The Mediae Company to test the impact of a multi-episode serialized radio drama. Rooted in social psychological theories, the media intervention aims to reduce prejudice, build empathy, and foster support for refugee integration policies, in particular the right to work and move freely. 

Targeting 120 non-hosting villages, where public support for integration is weakest yet most politically consequential, this randomized evaluation leverages randomized encouragement and variation in radio coverage to test whether edutainment works by providing new information (‘direct learning’) or shifting perceived social norms (‘social coordination’), measuring both attitudinal and behavioral outcomes, including direct and spillover effects. The study aims to generate rigorous, policy-relevant evidence on low-cost media strategies to build public support for durable refugee solutions in fragile, resource-constrained settings.

Implementing Partner