We are happy to bring into your kind notice that the 1st Global Symposium on Engaging Men and Boys in Achieving Gender Equality was held in Rio de Janeiro from March 30 to April 3, 2009. The objective of the symposium was for promoting exchange, debate and planning for action on ‘working with boys and men against gender-based violence’. 450 representatives from various organizations, working together on the issue of engaging men and boys to end gender inequality, representing 80 different countries participated in the symposium.
This Symposium marked two tremendous accomplishments in the movement for engaging men and boys in gender equality. First, this issue is now being explicitly included in institutions all around the world including United Nations, Governmental organizations till the community-based organizations including NGOs, networks, media, research organizations, academic institutions through various ongoing programmes.
It also brought the political, cultural and spiritual challenges of professionalization and globalization. Another significant accomplishment reflected in this Symposium was that the movement has now become a multi-generational movement. In this multi-generational context a culture has/is being created and the network has been seen as a community with a legacy that will be carried and evolved further into the future.
At the end of the symposium, the Symposium came up with a “Rio Call to Action”, which urges all the stakeholders including UN & Governments to come up with a policy that ensures to engage men and boys for gender equality along with the creation of a “Youth Forum” of the network.
This is very significant move towards achieving gender equality and ending violence at large. So let us join our hands together for a noble cause.