Men as Allies in Gender-Sensitive Peacebuilding

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New Tactics in Human Rights - Tactical Dialogues

https://www.newtactics.org/en/dialogue/joining-forces-engaging-men-allies-gender-sensitive-peacebuilding

Spanish Translation Available

Joining Forces: Engaging Men as Allies in Gender-Sensitive Peacebuilding

February 7th, 2011

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IFOR training

NOW OPEN!

Join New Tactics and the International Fellowship of Reconciliation's Women Peacemakers Program (IFOR/WPP) for an online dialogue on the topic "Joining Forces: Engaging men as allies in gender-sensitive peacebuilding" from March 30 to April 5, 2011.

There are exciting developments in thinking about overcoming violence and building peaceful communities. IFOR/WPP and its partners have been exploring the relationship between masculinities, violence and peacebuilding. One major development has been the outreach to men to challenge destructive and violent mindsets of what it means to be a "real man". This has led to a movement to engage men as gender-sensitive male allies to women peacemakers- allies who could act as powerful role models for men and boys in their communities to be involved in gender-sensitive conflict prevention and resolution.

What new ways have been developed by practitioners to engage men as allies in gender-sensitive peacebuilding? What has been the impact? What are the challenges? How can other peacebuilding networks adapt this approach in their work? This dialogue is an opportunity for those already involved in engaging men as allies to discuss these questions and share their experiences, as well as those who have not yet involved men but are interested in doing so.

The featured resource practitioners leading this dialogue include people that have been directly involved in the WPP training of trainers program, the organizations that work with WPP and others that are interested in sharing their experience and ideas on this topic. These practitioners so far include:

· José de Vries, Isabelle Geuskens, Dorothy Attema and Merle Gosewinkel of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation's Women Peacemakers Program (IFOR/WPP), The Netherlands

· Joy Mbaabu - Executive Director of the Amani Communities Africa (ACA), Kenya

· Steven Botkin of Men's Resources International, United States

· Patricia Ackerman, United States

· Inoka Priyadarshani, Sri Lanka

· Tsitsi Mhlanga, Zimbabwe

· Ali Gohar of Just Peace International, Pakistan

· Christian Ngendahimana of Fountain-ISOKO for Good Governance and Integrated Development, Burundi

· Dola Nicholas Oluoch is a training coordinator for Chemchemi Ya Ukweli-Active, Kenya

· Babar Bashir of ROZAN, Pakistan

· Seconde Nyanzobe - Board Member of the WPP Africa Office and female support person for male peace activists, Burundi

· Olivia Dolores Gimeno Sassine - Assistant Director of the Regional Protection Programs, Heartland Alliance - Iraq Program, Lebanon

· Sanne Tielemans and others from the European Peacebuilding Liaison Office (EPLO), Belgium

· Maria Rashid of ROZAN, Pakistan

· Fanny Chirisa - Director of Women in Politics Support Unit, Zimbabwe

· Jens van Tricht, an independent consultant, The Netherlands

· Team of participants from the Gender Focal Point in GPPAC (Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict) network:

o Gesa Bent, Coordinator Gender at the Global Secretariat of GPPAC, The Netherlands

o Seema Kakran, Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace (WISCOMP), India - WISCOMP is a member of GPPAC in South Asia

o Dr. Paula Banerjee, Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group, India – Gender Focal Point in GPPAC South Asia

o Amir Hodžić, independent researcher and educator, Croatia – Gender Focal Point in GPPAC Western Balkans

o Nighat Said Khan, ASR Resource Centre; Institute of Women’s Studies, Pakistan – Gender Focal Point in GPPAC South Asia

(Photo above is of participants at an IFOR training in the Philippines / Photo source: IFOR)

Discussion threads: Main themes of this dialogue

Participate in this dialogue by adding comments to the discussion threads below. Click on a discussion thread title to add a new comment. Click here for help.

Discussion Thread		Comments
Why should men and women be involved as allies in peacebuilding?	What do we mean by “ally” and why is this kind of relationship important? What is the added value of increased men’s involvement around the Women, Peace and Security What kind of peacebuilding do we envision once men and women work together as allies in this work?	5
What does integrating a masculinities perspective in peacebuilding imply?	The International Fellowship of Reconciliation's Women Peacemakers Program (IFOR/WPP), co-facilitating partner for this dialogue, believes that gender-sensitive peacebuilding involves going beyond a focus on women and also includes integrating a masculinities perspective.	3
What kind of engagement are we looking for and how do we achieve it?	What kind of support do women peacemakers need from men? What do they not need? What kind of support do male allies need from women peacemakers? What do they not need? What does this engagement look like? What is the vision?	0
What are the challenges, opportunities and next steps?	What are the next steps? What kinds of coordination and collaborations can move us towards a sustainable approach to gender-sensitive peacebuilding? What are the risks to keep in mind while we consider these next steps?	2
What resources have you found to be helpful that you can share with others?	Please share training materials, websites, research, articles, etc., that you have found useful.