- This event has passed.
Emancipator weekend 2023
06/10/2023, 08:00 - 08/10/2023, 17:00
During the weekend, we will discuss how violence, gender and masculinity norms are related, and what you can do to prevent gender-based violence. We will address social structures and personal experiences, with interactive working methods and plenty of space for reflection and sharing stories. After the weekend, you will put into practice what you have learned by organising an activity.
Please note that working language during weekend will be Dutch.
Gender based violence & masculinity
Gender-based violence is a huge problem: almost half of Dutch women and an even higher proportion of lhbtqia+ persons experience physical or sexual violence. Often, attempts are made to stop sexual or gender-based violence if there any attempts at all. But to really prevent violence, an approach at the roots is needed.
Most perpetrators of violence are men, but we know that most men do not commit violence. Moreover, men themselves can be victims of sexual violence, even though in those cases, too, most perpetrators are men.
All men can help prevent violence by stepping out of the man box, engaging with boys and men around them, and thus making a difference in the lower levels of the pyramid.
Violence is strongly linked to societal ideas and norms for men and masculinity. This makes violence a men’s problem and a masculinity problem. So we need to start with men to prevent violence. Emancipator works to transform masculinity to prevent violence and make boys, men and masculinity part of the solution.
Personal transformation
The weekend is about masculinity, gendered violence and how you can help prevent it, but it is also about you. In a variety of activities, you are invited to explore how masculinity norms and different forms of violence play and have played a role in your life, together with other participants. So it is not only about social change but also about personal transformation. For many participants, that is precisely what makes the weekend “life changing”: to take a step in that process together with other men.
Summary
Friday, 6 October, approx 5pm, to Sunday, 8 October, approx 5pm. Final times to follow. We are expecting you to be there all weekend.
In group accommodation the Elegast in Ubbergen. Easy to reach by public transport.
We sleep in dormitories. Workspaces and sanitary facilities are wheelchair accessible, dormitories less so, please contact us and we will find a solution in consultation with the location.
Free participation: includes meals, accommodation, training and materials.
After the weekend, you will engage with men in your own environment, using the knowledge and inspiration gained during the weekend.
Sign up until 24 September 2023. If you have signed up, you can still cancel up to 24 September 2023. If you cancel after that, we will charge a fee. If more people apply than there are places available (27), there will be a selection round based on your motivation.
For whom?
You are a man, socialised as a man, or in some way influenced by masculinity norms
You think gender-based violence is a problem and that men have a responsibility to do something about it
You want to take action to engage men in preventing gender-based violence
You want to get to know other men who are also working on this
After the weekend
After the weekend, you will organise an activity where you will have a conversation with men around you about the themes we have covered. That way, you will engage even more men in preventing gender-based violence. Your activity will become part of the White Ribbon Campaign 2023. Your activity does not have to be a major one; in fact, the smaller your approach, the more likely it is to succeed. We’d rather have more small activities than fewer big ones. If your activity helps to engage men in some way to prevent gender-based violence, your activity is already successful.
We will help you organise your activity, both practically and substantively as well as financially. The intention is that you already have an idea for your activity before the weekend, so that you can develop it together with others during the weekend. In the application form you can fill in what kind of idea you already have. Your activity should preferably take place during the White Ribbon Campaign: between 25 November and 10 December, and no later than December 2023.
Previous participants did e.g. a movie night, conversation with friends, meeting with colleagues, pub quiz, presentation, fashion show, debate night, pizza session, street interview, online campaign, party, theme night, master class, book club, conversation night, theme breakfast, photo series, etc.
About the project
From 2023, we are working on the Men’s Emancipation Project as part of the solution in the ‘Nationaal Actieprogramma Aanpak seksueel grensoverschrijdend gedrag en seksueel geweld’ (National Action Programme on Tackling Sexual Transgressive Behaviour and Sexual Violence).
Violence is strongly linked to societal ideas and norms for men and masculinity. This makes violence a men’s problem and a masculinity problem. So we need to start with men to prevent violence.
Emancipator works to transform masculinity to prevent violence and make boys, men and masculinity part of the solution. The weekend is part of this project.
