NEW PERSPECTIVES ON MEN & GENDER JUSTICE

INTERACTIVE BRAINSTORM MEETING

BRUSSELS, 21 APRIL 2015, 17.00 – 19.30

Emancipator and MenEngage Europe, in close collaboration with the Dutch government, supported by IPPF, kindly invite you to an inspiring and interactive brainstorm event about Men and Gender Justice in Europe. This event is organized as an independent ‘after-event’ to the European Commission’s Forum on the Future of Gender Equality that is held on 20-21 April in Brussels.

We all want a better world. A better world is not possible without social justice. Social justice is not possible without gender justice. Gender justice is not possible without active participation and engagement of boys and men. What’s more, gender justice is also in the interest of boys and men.
In recent years, the changing role of boys and men and the transformation of traditional masculities have gained major attention. It has become clear that it is necessary, possible, and sometimes very rewarding to include a constructive perspective on men and masculinities, on practical, theoretical and policy levels, in activities and policies aimed at women’s rights and gender justice. A growing number of initiatives even takes boys and men as their primary focus for work on gender justice.

The global alliance MenEngage is a unique example of this, connecting many local, national and international initiatives for working with boys and men for gender justice, in many countries – from a grass-roots level or initiated from a national or global level. MenCare, HeForShe and White Ribbon are examples of succesful campaigns engaging boys and menin gender justice. In Europe, both the European Commission and the European Institute for Gender Equality have initiated research and other activities aimed at (exploring the possibilities of) engaging boys and men in gender justice.

The European Commission is inviting a broad range of key stakeholders from around the EU to help shape the future policies on equality between women and men at the Forum on the Future of Gender Equality. Benefiting from this occasion, eMANcipator, MenEngage Europe, and the Dutch Government take the chance to organise a special ‘after-event’ about how the engagement of boys and men in gender justice can help shaping our common future. In many countries work is done to increase participation and involvement of men and boys in national gender policies. Is it possible to join forces to also strengthen this dimension in international policies such as the EU Gender Equality Strategy and the Post 2015 UN Development Framework? What is the contribution from CSO’s herein?

PROGRAM:

16.30 Coffee/tea
17.00 Welcome and introduction
17.15 New perspectives on men and gender equality:

  • Jens van Tricht – Director Emancipator (The Netherlands)
  • Tomas Agnemo – Director Men for Gender Equality (Sweden)
  • Joëlla van Rijn – Head Taskforce Gender Equality and Women’s Rights, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (The Netherlands)

17.45 Interactive brainstorm: from theory to practice, scaling up, new alliances, intersectionality, new dimensions
18.45 Harvest time: Commitments, contributions and actions
19.15 Wrap-up and conclusions
19.30 End

Date: Tuesday 21 April, 2015
Time: 17.00 – 19.30
Venue: IPPF, 146, Rue Royale | B-1000 Brussels | Belgium

RSVP: http://goo.gl/forms/ek48OJ8LVD

Any questions or inquiries can be directed to: genderjustice@emancipator.nl

Please feel free to share this invitation with anyone who might be interested.

Emancipator is the Dutch organisation for men and gender equality, facilitating the Dutch Network Man 2.0 and developing an overview of practical tools for working with boys and men for gender justice: www.emancipator.nl
MenEngage Europe is the European branch of the global MenEngage Alliance, connecting hundreds of organisations, professionals and activists working with boys and men for gender equality: http://menengage.org/regions/europe/

IPPF is a global service provider and a leading advocate of sexual and reproductive health and rights for all. The IPPF European Network is one of IPPF’s six regions and includes member associations throughout Europe and Central Asia: http://www.ippfen.org
The Dutch Government is funding Emancipator’s project ‘Men and Gender Equality 2.0′ through the department of Gender Equality at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and through the Taskforce Women’s Rights and Gender Equality from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.