Poem by Valtimore B. Fenis
We are gathered and get along together
We listened and shared
May not from one background
But we stood in the same ground
Men who have the passion
To gender balanced condition
The idea of love and care
To humanity and our women dear
Brave to stand before our nations
Carry out just peace and equality
Believed that each being has a power to share
To free one and all
Gender, class and national oppressions
We suffered, sympathized and empathized as well
We are victims of all structures
Manipulated and repressed us many forms
Real men have the courage to listen
Real men never undermine others
Real men cry and not ashamed of it
Real men stands connected
Real men, inside and out
Don’t harm for sure
Instead, wide and objective
Broad, humanist and allies
Thursday 17 December 2009
Ruben Reyes, Nicaragua
This Training of Trainers, in which we explored masculinities and its link to violence, and peacebuilding has been a wonderful experience for me for two main reasons.
Firstly, I have learned a lot about active non-violence in this training and I have learned to link masculinity work with the field of active non-violence.
Secondly, even though I have participated in many masculinity trainings, and I have facilitated many workshops myself—as I have about 15 years of experience in this field—I have learned a lot about gender, masculinity and cross-gender dialogue both from the facilitators and my fellow participants.
I feel now that we all are more committed to partner with women as allies in the struggle for gender equality and social justice.
I feel very hopeful that we can really make a difference in the world.
Firstly, I have learned a lot about active non-violence in this training and I have learned to link masculinity work with the field of active non-violence.
Secondly, even though I have participated in many masculinity trainings, and I have facilitated many workshops myself—as I have about 15 years of experience in this field—I have learned a lot about gender, masculinity and cross-gender dialogue both from the facilitators and my fellow participants.
I feel now that we all are more committed to partner with women as allies in the struggle for gender equality and social justice.
I feel very hopeful that we can really make a difference in the world.
Valtimore B. Fenis, Mindanao - Can I share something?
I have been attending the training of trainers on gender-sensitive active non violence for men. I believe that a gender sensitive active non violent man has the courage and positive power to work for gender justice in this world. A man, who is ready to take on this role is a man who is able and willing to listen to and understand issues and concerns in this world and to reflect on these and himself in a critical manner. Such a man does not part the personal from the political, because the personal life and life itself is political!
I am not just talking about putting forward women’s rights, but about internalizing the very principle of wholeness; whatever a man does, it will have an effect on his society and the people in this society; other men, women, gays, bisexuals, transgender, lesbians etc. This holistic way of seeing the world is essential when conveying and spreading the message of acceptance and peaceful co-existence.
I am very thankful for having the privilege to be part of this Training of Trainers organized by IFOR-Women Peacemakers Program. It is a fantastic and very enriching experience for me. I am making connections with men from all over the world and I can feel the comradeship among the trainees and the facilitators. It is a very wonderful thing that IFOR-WPP did. It is a gift to humankind and the world.
The exchanges with the participants, coming from 17 different countries, all with their own rich experiences and passions for peacebuilding, give me more courage and energy in facing all the possible hindrances in working with men and women in my home country. I will work with them on gender issues and explain them how socialization processes work, to encourage them to step ‘out of the box of this social construction’ and to act and do things in a different, positive and constructive way. It will not be an easy task, but doing nothing will definitely not making any changes.
I feel there is a concrete necessity for men and women to work hand in hand to free ourselves of ‘these boxes of thinking and conforming to it’. The only ones who are capable to liberate these men and women are the men and women themselves.
I am very thankful that I have learned so many different approaches and perspectives on active non violence and gender sensitivity. I will reflect on and digest these issues more when I am back in my own home context. I will share all my experiences and knowledge there. This training, this field of gender sensitive active non violence, is very important for my work in social justice.
It’s challenging work and it will be, since we are the ones challenging ourselves and overall systems that have dominated the society for a long time. The learning in this training, the provision of space for everyone to talk and share, the feeling of connection with all, and the sharing of emotions among each other has really enriched and empowered my life.
I am hopeful that men, women and all genders can work together and build an alternative society favorable for everybody. Along the way while working for an alternative society marginalization, oppression, exploitation, repressions, suppression and discrimination must be destroyed and converted into positive actions and attitudes.
I am Valtimore Borjel Fenis, I am a hopeful, sinful man, hungry for more learning and more experiences. I will bring back all I learned and reflect on how it can be used in my own context.
I believe I am not alone in this work. I know I am working together with men, women and all genders from all over the world, with all colors, races, religions, and classes in a mission to transform the world.
Ever onward comrades and please keep me posted on your work!
I am not just talking about putting forward women’s rights, but about internalizing the very principle of wholeness; whatever a man does, it will have an effect on his society and the people in this society; other men, women, gays, bisexuals, transgender, lesbians etc. This holistic way of seeing the world is essential when conveying and spreading the message of acceptance and peaceful co-existence.
I am very thankful for having the privilege to be part of this Training of Trainers organized by IFOR-Women Peacemakers Program. It is a fantastic and very enriching experience for me. I am making connections with men from all over the world and I can feel the comradeship among the trainees and the facilitators. It is a very wonderful thing that IFOR-WPP did. It is a gift to humankind and the world.
The exchanges with the participants, coming from 17 different countries, all with their own rich experiences and passions for peacebuilding, give me more courage and energy in facing all the possible hindrances in working with men and women in my home country. I will work with them on gender issues and explain them how socialization processes work, to encourage them to step ‘out of the box of this social construction’ and to act and do things in a different, positive and constructive way. It will not be an easy task, but doing nothing will definitely not making any changes.
I feel there is a concrete necessity for men and women to work hand in hand to free ourselves of ‘these boxes of thinking and conforming to it’. The only ones who are capable to liberate these men and women are the men and women themselves.
I am very thankful that I have learned so many different approaches and perspectives on active non violence and gender sensitivity. I will reflect on and digest these issues more when I am back in my own home context. I will share all my experiences and knowledge there. This training, this field of gender sensitive active non violence, is very important for my work in social justice.
It’s challenging work and it will be, since we are the ones challenging ourselves and overall systems that have dominated the society for a long time. The learning in this training, the provision of space for everyone to talk and share, the feeling of connection with all, and the sharing of emotions among each other has really enriched and empowered my life.
I am hopeful that men, women and all genders can work together and build an alternative society favorable for everybody. Along the way while working for an alternative society marginalization, oppression, exploitation, repressions, suppression and discrimination must be destroyed and converted into positive actions and attitudes.
I am Valtimore Borjel Fenis, I am a hopeful, sinful man, hungry for more learning and more experiences. I will bring back all I learned and reflect on how it can be used in my own context.
I believe I am not alone in this work. I know I am working together with men, women and all genders from all over the world, with all colors, races, religions, and classes in a mission to transform the world.
Ever onward comrades and please keep me posted on your work!
Samuel D. Darpolor, Liberia - Coming out of the Box
For years, being a man for me meant to exercise power over women in every way; if I didn’t do that, I was considered to be a ‘weakling’. I am socialized by a patriarchal society on how to be a man; a man fits in a box of dominant, violent and what I now consider ‘negative masculinity’. It is a long journey from transforming from conforming to this negative masculinity into expressing more positive forms of masculinity.
I have realized that women are as powerful as men, and that there was a need to do them justice by seeing them as partners and to join them in campaigning for ending violence against women. During this campaigning however, I often felt that I was loosing something to the women. Often I acted defensive in these situations, shifted blame to women and made justifications for my own behavior. Until I attended a two week training organized by the Women Peacemakers Program of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, with the theme; “Overcoming violence, exploring masculinity, Gender sensitive Active Non violence.”
The training brought together 19 men from 17 Countries and 5 continents of the world with vast experiences in gender, peacebuilding and/ or non violence. The training was co-facilitated by Patricia Ackerman and Steven Botkin.
Despite the many experiences I have had in gender advocacy, I learned so much when they led us through a more practical and gender sensitive way of looking at the world and peacebuilding. From their facilitation, I learned the following:
1. There is an alternative to the negative, dominant masculinity box engulfing everyman. Every man has to accept that he is socialized with this negative masculinity in him, that he is also a victim of this, but that he can and should decide to ‘resist’ the negative masculinity and deal with issues in a more positive way.
2. That it is important to listen and be sensitive to the needs of women
This training has impacted my life so much! I feel strongly committed to working for gender justice, gender equality and to work together with women as allies in this work. I feel committed to listen and be sensitive to women in this process.
I am going to start by bringing back the teachings and experiences from this training back to my work and family. I would like to mainstream gender on every level and in every program of my work. I will also work on engaging policy and decision makers at every level, be it religious, political , social or traditional levels to consider gender justice in their laws, norms and values. I will also work – through specific programs - on re-socializiation of boys and men in my community and encourage them to express more positive masculine behavior.
My special thanks to the Women Peacemakers Program, the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding, Patricia and Steven, the participants at the training and my family for the support in various ways that have helped me gained such wealth of experience in gender justice.
I have realized that women are as powerful as men, and that there was a need to do them justice by seeing them as partners and to join them in campaigning for ending violence against women. During this campaigning however, I often felt that I was loosing something to the women. Often I acted defensive in these situations, shifted blame to women and made justifications for my own behavior. Until I attended a two week training organized by the Women Peacemakers Program of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, with the theme; “Overcoming violence, exploring masculinity, Gender sensitive Active Non violence.”
The training brought together 19 men from 17 Countries and 5 continents of the world with vast experiences in gender, peacebuilding and/ or non violence. The training was co-facilitated by Patricia Ackerman and Steven Botkin.
Despite the many experiences I have had in gender advocacy, I learned so much when they led us through a more practical and gender sensitive way of looking at the world and peacebuilding. From their facilitation, I learned the following:
1. There is an alternative to the negative, dominant masculinity box engulfing everyman. Every man has to accept that he is socialized with this negative masculinity in him, that he is also a victim of this, but that he can and should decide to ‘resist’ the negative masculinity and deal with issues in a more positive way.
2. That it is important to listen and be sensitive to the needs of women
This training has impacted my life so much! I feel strongly committed to working for gender justice, gender equality and to work together with women as allies in this work. I feel committed to listen and be sensitive to women in this process.
I am going to start by bringing back the teachings and experiences from this training back to my work and family. I would like to mainstream gender on every level and in every program of my work. I will also work on engaging policy and decision makers at every level, be it religious, political , social or traditional levels to consider gender justice in their laws, norms and values. I will also work – through specific programs - on re-socializiation of boys and men in my community and encourage them to express more positive masculine behavior.
My special thanks to the Women Peacemakers Program, the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding, Patricia and Steven, the participants at the training and my family for the support in various ways that have helped me gained such wealth of experience in gender justice.
Rob Fairmichael, Ireland
A reflection on the training of trainers in gender sensitive active non violence that I participate in? Well, the first thing to say is that it is difficult, when confronted with so many people, issues and ideas from around the world, to state immediately "This is what I have learnt’. It requires a longer period of reflection and
It will require a longer period of reflection - and 'reflection in action'. I am learning much about gender-sensitivity in relation to my work. I work for an Irish Network for Nonviolent Action Training and Education.
As a European the impression is that the situation of women is much better than in some other areas in the world. However, this is only an 'external' factor - and this argument should not be used to deny the changes that need to happen in Europe on gender-related issues.
I think it’s also important to distinguish between situations that I have a direct influence or control over and other situations that are less controllable for me personally and are more taking place on a ‘macro-level’. It’s very important for me to be gender sensitive in my personal life and in my immediate field of work, since I have the most influence in these areas.
I have learned a lot in training in a variety of ways. Theoretical frameworks and practical exercises have been an important part of the learning, since we need to learn how to use the tools to ‘break out of the box of current, dominant and violent norms of masculinity’. However, I have also learned a lot from discussion with the participants, they are really an amazing bunch of guys!
We were together with 19 trainees from 17 different countries – all with a great humour and perseverance. The exchange of experiences, the stories on the experiences of women in struggling for peace from for instance Liberia, Kenya and Zimbabwe, the sharing on violence and indignities suffered by so many people, the theories and experiences related to feminisms and positive masculinities – these are just some aspects of this inspiring gathering.
It feels an absolutely amazing event in my life and I feel very privileged to be here, as the only European participant.
I know I will be bringing home far, far more than a load of books and materials. I will be bringing home a new window on the world and what I need to do. When I was 16 and in school I edited a magazine called "Challenge' which looked at some issues of concern. Forty years later, aged 56, I have some new challenges and for that I feel really grateful to the WPP.
It will require a longer period of reflection - and 'reflection in action'. I am learning much about gender-sensitivity in relation to my work. I work for an Irish Network for Nonviolent Action Training and Education.
As a European the impression is that the situation of women is much better than in some other areas in the world. However, this is only an 'external' factor - and this argument should not be used to deny the changes that need to happen in Europe on gender-related issues.
I think it’s also important to distinguish between situations that I have a direct influence or control over and other situations that are less controllable for me personally and are more taking place on a ‘macro-level’. It’s very important for me to be gender sensitive in my personal life and in my immediate field of work, since I have the most influence in these areas.
I have learned a lot in training in a variety of ways. Theoretical frameworks and practical exercises have been an important part of the learning, since we need to learn how to use the tools to ‘break out of the box of current, dominant and violent norms of masculinity’. However, I have also learned a lot from discussion with the participants, they are really an amazing bunch of guys!
We were together with 19 trainees from 17 different countries – all with a great humour and perseverance. The exchange of experiences, the stories on the experiences of women in struggling for peace from for instance Liberia, Kenya and Zimbabwe, the sharing on violence and indignities suffered by so many people, the theories and experiences related to feminisms and positive masculinities – these are just some aspects of this inspiring gathering.
It feels an absolutely amazing event in my life and I feel very privileged to be here, as the only European participant.
I know I will be bringing home far, far more than a load of books and materials. I will be bringing home a new window on the world and what I need to do. When I was 16 and in school I edited a magazine called "Challenge' which looked at some issues of concern. Forty years later, aged 56, I have some new challenges and for that I feel really grateful to the WPP.
Dola Nicholas Oluoch, Kenya
Taking a quick look at the last one week that we’ve been together, where experiences from five different continents were shared, under the leadership of two wonderful facilitators from the United States of America, few things quickly come to my mind in terms of lessons learnt:
- The realization that gender is not actually about women.
- The whole mystery surrounding masculinity was unraveled in this one week.
- The whole mystery surrounding femininity was also unraveled.
- The realization that women have for a long time struggled with the load of previous abuses and that this is accompanied by emotions was very key to me.
- The realization that women actually need space to pour out the emotions.
- And the need for me just to listen and not to rush into giving solutions.
The above lessons prompted me into some kind of attitude change. It helped me to start looking at women and the world with different lenses; the so-called ‘gender lenses’.
It is my sincere belief that this is the very first step towards positive transformation with regard to gender issues. In this training I have made a commitment that I am going to work against any forms of gender violence aiming to realize a more equal and just society.
A gender sensitive active non violent man to me is one that understands that women have suffered for long and that their suffering comes with emotions that need to be downloaded somehow. This should be a man that is willing to give space to women and is able to listen without rushing to offer solutions like most of us have done previously.
Finally, a man who is willing and able to be an ally with women and work together for peacebuilding, without hijacking the women’s agenda is a ‘perfect’ gender sensitive active non violent man.
Paulo Baleinakorodawa – Fiji Islands
This training on Gender Sensitive Active Non Violence has been a transformative experience for me. As a man coming from a very patriarchal society, I have been socialized to see women as inferior and powerless. Violence in its many forms – from subtle to physical violence - is often seen as the only possible way to solve problems resulting in women becoming victims of violent behaviours of men.
That socialization process has shaped by behaviour and attitudes towards women. Though I have made, in my personal and professional life, small steps to change my worldview and my behaviour towards women, I often still find myself falling back in these ‘old behavioural patterns’.
This training is the start of a new socialization process for me. I am strengthened by the feeling of vulnerability I experience as I begin to make the shift and commit myself to behaving in positive masculine way, rather than conforming to dominant violent masculine behaviour that is currently the norm.
The new journey I am embarking on towards a more gendered sensitive non violent man is a good challenge for a real man. Training and convincing men and boys to adopt gender-sensitive active non violence as a way of life and the most constructive way to resolve conflicts are certainly going to be major challenges. But in the words of Gandhi, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you then you win.”
Gender sensitive active non violence is a way of life that promotes equality of women and men and actively responds to situations of inequality and injustices.
That socialization process has shaped by behaviour and attitudes towards women. Though I have made, in my personal and professional life, small steps to change my worldview and my behaviour towards women, I often still find myself falling back in these ‘old behavioural patterns’.
This training is the start of a new socialization process for me. I am strengthened by the feeling of vulnerability I experience as I begin to make the shift and commit myself to behaving in positive masculine way, rather than conforming to dominant violent masculine behaviour that is currently the norm.
The new journey I am embarking on towards a more gendered sensitive non violent man is a good challenge for a real man. Training and convincing men and boys to adopt gender-sensitive active non violence as a way of life and the most constructive way to resolve conflicts are certainly going to be major challenges. But in the words of Gandhi, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you then you win.”
Gender sensitive active non violence is a way of life that promotes equality of women and men and actively responds to situations of inequality and injustices.
Anand Pawar, India - My experiences, feelings and reflections about the Training of Trainers on Gender-sensitive Active Non-violence, The Netherlands.
Hi, I am Anand Pawar from SAMYAK in India. My friends who know that I am attending the Training on Gender Sensitive Active Nonviolence organized by the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, its Women Peacemakers Programme must be wondering how I’m doing. I’m more than happy to share some of my learning experiences.
Training of Trainers Experiences -
We are 19 men here from 17 different countries staying together for over a week now sharing our experiences in peacebuilding and working together with women’s groups in this.
It is incredible to connect with participants from so many different countries and backgrounds and to listen to women’s struggles in their countries; the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Ghana, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Burundi, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, India, Cambodia, Philippines, Fiji, Lebanon, Nicaragua, Northern Ireland, US, and the Netherlands.
We’re building a community of men working together with women as allies in peacebuilding.
The training is being facilitated by Patricia Ackerman, a feminist activist in the US and Steven Botkin of Men's Resources International. Their complementary way of working together is amazing and inspiring for me to observe. The training is highly informative with theories and practices of gender-sensitive active nonviolence and masculinity.
We also attended a conference in the Hague on women and peacebuilding, named 'The Second Dutch-Swedish Conference on Gender Equality: Women in War Zones' in The Hague. I gained a lot of strength from the sharing of ideas with women peacemakers from different countries, especially from Afghanistan and Liberia. I met Leymah Gbowee, the woman who mobilized the nonviolent peace movement in Liberia against the autocratic leadership. I also met the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary forms of Slavery, Gulnara Shahinian, who informed us on UN advocacy mechanisms.
Learning and Contextualisation: How it informs my work at SAMYAK -
I have always focused on analyses of conflicts, militarization and cross-border tensions in South Asia, communal and caste-based violence in India and its linkage with construction of masculinities and culture of violence.
In my work with boys and men, I have been focusing on issues of masculinities in the context of violence against women, gender-based violence and sexuality. I have always felt that the understanding of men and masculinities in South Asian region needs to be examined beyond these issues. It needs to be contextualized in the contemporary realities of growing militarization, cross-border tensions and the spread of chauvinism, increasing fundamentalisms and notions of nationalisms. I have been grappling to incorporate these issues to address wider forms of violence in our dialogue with different sections of society.
This ToT has helped me to broaden my perspective on masculinities, from a gender sensitive active non violent point of view. Information on gender sensitive active non violence on both a theoretical and practical level has enriched my conceptual framework. I also learned a lot through the sharing of experiences and ideas with the other participants. This helped me to understand the world view on peace and nonviolence and its context to work with men and boys on masculinities from a feminist perspective.
Trying to contextualize what I have learned back to my own context, I am very happy to be connected to other participants from South Asia. With the participants from Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka I can discuss crucial issues related to the conflicts – their contexts and causes and nature - in the region. We discuss how we as men, and as allies of women, can take this training back to various processes in the region to be part of wider efforts towards gender justice and peace.
Follow up plans –
I have been working with male gender trainers both in my home state Maharashtra as well as nationally through our collective forum like Forum to Engage Men (FEM): Working with Men and Boys for Gender Equality. This is an active space and process in more than 15 provincial states of India. I will report what I learned in this training on gender sensitive active non violence back to this collective Forum and to the training workshops that I do for various groups.
I could organize follow-up trainings in different regions of India (North, East, South and West) with trainers and activists in civil society organizations and social justice movements, which in turn will work as trainers and advocates for active non-violence in their regions.
A comprehensive training programme for male gender trainers on gender-sensitive active nonviolence could be organized in South Asia and India every year. Participation for this could be invited through the process of applications with a stipulated shared contribution by the participants and organizations involved.
The development and dissemination of resource materials in regional languages would help to take these issues to the communities we work with. Also ongoing exchange activities would help to strengthen gender-sensitive active nonviolence activities and education in the region.
I feel privileged to be here. I have learned much on feminist theories and theories and practices of gender-sensitive active nonviolence. I feel deeply thankful to all the friends, women and men, FEM and feminist activists back home in India and IFOR/WPP, all the participants and facilitators of this ToT for providing space for critical reflections and raising my conscious as a man.
Training of Trainers Experiences -
We are 19 men here from 17 different countries staying together for over a week now sharing our experiences in peacebuilding and working together with women’s groups in this.
It is incredible to connect with participants from so many different countries and backgrounds and to listen to women’s struggles in their countries; the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Ghana, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Burundi, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, India, Cambodia, Philippines, Fiji, Lebanon, Nicaragua, Northern Ireland, US, and the Netherlands.
We’re building a community of men working together with women as allies in peacebuilding.
The training is being facilitated by Patricia Ackerman, a feminist activist in the US and Steven Botkin of Men's Resources International. Their complementary way of working together is amazing and inspiring for me to observe. The training is highly informative with theories and practices of gender-sensitive active nonviolence and masculinity.
We also attended a conference in the Hague on women and peacebuilding, named 'The Second Dutch-Swedish Conference on Gender Equality: Women in War Zones' in The Hague. I gained a lot of strength from the sharing of ideas with women peacemakers from different countries, especially from Afghanistan and Liberia. I met Leymah Gbowee, the woman who mobilized the nonviolent peace movement in Liberia against the autocratic leadership. I also met the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary forms of Slavery, Gulnara Shahinian, who informed us on UN advocacy mechanisms.
Learning and Contextualisation: How it informs my work at SAMYAK -
I have always focused on analyses of conflicts, militarization and cross-border tensions in South Asia, communal and caste-based violence in India and its linkage with construction of masculinities and culture of violence.
In my work with boys and men, I have been focusing on issues of masculinities in the context of violence against women, gender-based violence and sexuality. I have always felt that the understanding of men and masculinities in South Asian region needs to be examined beyond these issues. It needs to be contextualized in the contemporary realities of growing militarization, cross-border tensions and the spread of chauvinism, increasing fundamentalisms and notions of nationalisms. I have been grappling to incorporate these issues to address wider forms of violence in our dialogue with different sections of society.
This ToT has helped me to broaden my perspective on masculinities, from a gender sensitive active non violent point of view. Information on gender sensitive active non violence on both a theoretical and practical level has enriched my conceptual framework. I also learned a lot through the sharing of experiences and ideas with the other participants. This helped me to understand the world view on peace and nonviolence and its context to work with men and boys on masculinities from a feminist perspective.
Trying to contextualize what I have learned back to my own context, I am very happy to be connected to other participants from South Asia. With the participants from Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka I can discuss crucial issues related to the conflicts – their contexts and causes and nature - in the region. We discuss how we as men, and as allies of women, can take this training back to various processes in the region to be part of wider efforts towards gender justice and peace.
Follow up plans –
I have been working with male gender trainers both in my home state Maharashtra as well as nationally through our collective forum like Forum to Engage Men (FEM): Working with Men and Boys for Gender Equality. This is an active space and process in more than 15 provincial states of India. I will report what I learned in this training on gender sensitive active non violence back to this collective Forum and to the training workshops that I do for various groups.
I could organize follow-up trainings in different regions of India (North, East, South and West) with trainers and activists in civil society organizations and social justice movements, which in turn will work as trainers and advocates for active non-violence in their regions.
A comprehensive training programme for male gender trainers on gender-sensitive active nonviolence could be organized in South Asia and India every year. Participation for this could be invited through the process of applications with a stipulated shared contribution by the participants and organizations involved.
The development and dissemination of resource materials in regional languages would help to take these issues to the communities we work with. Also ongoing exchange activities would help to strengthen gender-sensitive active nonviolence activities and education in the region.
I feel privileged to be here. I have learned much on feminist theories and theories and practices of gender-sensitive active nonviolence. I feel deeply thankful to all the friends, women and men, FEM and feminist activists back home in India and IFOR/WPP, all the participants and facilitators of this ToT for providing space for critical reflections and raising my conscious as a man.
Wednesday 16 December 2009
OVERCOMING VIOLENCE - EXPLORING MASCULINITIES, VIOLENCE AND PEACE
The Women Peacemakers Program of IFOR is convinced that in order to change cultures of war and violence, women peace activists need to work together with male allies. Therefore the WPP is organizing a Training of Trainers entitled “Overcoming Violence - Exploring Masculinities, Violence and Peace”. This Training of Trainers takes place November 30 - December 11, 2009 and aims to:
- train male trainers on gender-sensitive active non-violence (ANV);
- explore the concept of masculinities in relation to issues of violence and peace;
- create a pool of male gender-sensitive active nonviolence trainers;
The training will be given by Patrica Ackerman, a well-known nonviolent activist and Steven Botkin, Executive Director of Men's Resources International.
Patricia Ackerman
Patricia Ackerman has over 25 years experience as an activist and advocate in the areas of gender, environment, anti-racism, and LGBTQ justice. She is a conflict resolutions expert, mediator, certified creative arts therapist, Episcopal priest, and psychotherapist. She has directed social justice projects at the Fellowship of Reconciliation in Nyack, NY, and at the Garrison Institute, Garrison NY. Patricia regularly leads workshops in gender, empowerment, and diversity. She has a
M.Div from Union Theological Seminary in NYC and is doing a doctorate in women, peace and security at CUNY Graduate center. She is an NGO representative at the United Nations.
Steven D. Botkin, Ed.D.
Executive Director Men’s Resources International
Steven Botkin founded the Men’s Resource Center (MRC) of Western Massachusetts in 1982 and received his doctoral degree in Social Justice Education from the University of Massachusetts several years later. For 20 years, as executive director, he guided the MRC from a grass-roots group of volunteers into a successful nonprofit organization, whose programs have become a model for community-based men’s groups around the world.
In 2004, Steven founded Men’s Resources International (MRI) to “mobilize networks of men as allies with women for violence prevention and positive masculinity.” Through MRI, Dr. Botkin lectures, leads workshops and trainings, and provides consultations for organizations throughout the United States and around the world. Recent trainings have been conducted for YWCA staff and volunteers in Zambia, community leaders in Nigeria, CARE International, the Rwanda Men’s Resource Centre and coffee farmers in Rwanda, and the International Rescue Committee, the Ministry of Gender and Development and community action groups in Liberia. Dr. Botkin is now working with the IRC to develop a Male Involvement Project in Cote d’Ivoire.
This blog was created to inform people who are interested in this training and its outcomes. The blog will feature regular updates on program sessions, as well as thoughts and reflections of the participants during the training.
- train male trainers on gender-sensitive active non-violence (ANV);
- explore the concept of masculinities in relation to issues of violence and peace;
- create a pool of male gender-sensitive active nonviolence trainers;
The training will be given by Patrica Ackerman, a well-known nonviolent activist and Steven Botkin, Executive Director of Men's Resources International.
Patricia Ackerman
Patricia Ackerman has over 25 years experience as an activist and advocate in the areas of gender, environment, anti-racism, and LGBTQ justice. She is a conflict resolutions expert, mediator, certified creative arts therapist, Episcopal priest, and psychotherapist. She has directed social justice projects at the Fellowship of Reconciliation in Nyack, NY, and at the Garrison Institute, Garrison NY. Patricia regularly leads workshops in gender, empowerment, and diversity. She has a
M.Div from Union Theological Seminary in NYC and is doing a doctorate in women, peace and security at CUNY Graduate center. She is an NGO representative at the United Nations.
Steven D. Botkin, Ed.D.
Executive Director Men’s Resources International
Steven Botkin founded the Men’s Resource Center (MRC) of Western Massachusetts in 1982 and received his doctoral degree in Social Justice Education from the University of Massachusetts several years later. For 20 years, as executive director, he guided the MRC from a grass-roots group of volunteers into a successful nonprofit organization, whose programs have become a model for community-based men’s groups around the world.
In 2004, Steven founded Men’s Resources International (MRI) to “mobilize networks of men as allies with women for violence prevention and positive masculinity.” Through MRI, Dr. Botkin lectures, leads workshops and trainings, and provides consultations for organizations throughout the United States and around the world. Recent trainings have been conducted for YWCA staff and volunteers in Zambia, community leaders in Nigeria, CARE International, the Rwanda Men’s Resource Centre and coffee farmers in Rwanda, and the International Rescue Committee, the Ministry of Gender and Development and community action groups in Liberia. Dr. Botkin is now working with the IRC to develop a Male Involvement Project in Cote d’Ivoire.
This blog was created to inform people who are interested in this training and its outcomes. The blog will feature regular updates on program sessions, as well as thoughts and reflections of the participants during the training.
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