Centering Youth Voices as we Reimagine Masculinities this International Youth Day 2024

Co-authored by Alex, Tivia, Irene, Chirine, Enrique, and Kisa from the MenEngage Youth Reference Group.  

 

International Youth Day serves as a powerful reminder of the energy, creativity, and potential of young people worldwide. It’s a day to celebrate the contributions of young people to building a more just and equitable future.

Chirine Basbous, Projects Officer at ABAAD and Youth Reference Group member representing Lebanon MenEngage Network, explains, “the integration of transformative masculinities and transformational youth leadership sets us on the right path. It allows us to build a future reservoir of adequate gender sensitive leaders.”

Building on this Alex Nelson, the Youth representative of MenEngage North America, says, “Youth leadership in transforming masculinities demonstrates to the world how the human potential for gender justice can be fostered.” 

In fostering such notions of gender justice, Alex also emphasizes that promoting accountability and active participation within our everyday situations is key. For example, if a young man is making hateful comments about women, then he must be openly, lovingly, and firmly confronted about this from an accountability perspective by his own peers. The change has to come from within ourselves, our communities.

In a similar vein, speaking of broader organizational structures and movement building concerns, Chirine Basbous notes, “we must keep in mind all times that young people are key drivers of the movement or organization. They are not merely recipients/stakeholders in these processes.” As such, it is crucial for any movement or organization to consider at various levels how they can integrate transformational youth leadership and engagement. Whether this be through training and capacity building efforts, offering mentorship and support, or involving youth in planning and decision-making.

Additionally, Luis Enrique Martin Tuz, Social Anthropologist and Youth Reference Group member from Latin America, cautions that, “simply giving leadership to the youth is not enough.”  Drawing upon his experience of working in grassroots organizations, Enrique shares how it is common for young people to feel alone and unsupported by the broader network of which they are a part of.

Reflecting on what could have been done differently, Enrique states that “there is a need for real commitment of the older and more experienced generations to accompany the leadership of young people, through a respectful dialogue and free of adult-centric prejudices,” to avoid repeating similar situations in other spaces.

“We are not talking about generational relays, we are talking about generational continuity.” – Enrique

It is exactly this sense of creating generational continuity, leveraging the knowledge and power present within these spaces, and wider community support that Irene Ogata, Program Officer at ATHENA Network, speaks to during her time at MenEngage. 

“Having spaces where your leadership and expertise is supported is quite a rare experience. So, I am proud of the fact that I am one of the youngest in the MenEngage Global Board, which allows for sharing all of this cross-generational wealth and knowledge. Proud to be part of this space where youth leadership is appreciated and honored.”

Similarly, Festus Kisa, Director of Q-Initiative, says, “there is sincere inclusion of young people and growing young people’s leadership. In my case, from the context of MenEngage Kenya, I always feel like I am the same as and equal to everyone else in the space.”

Sharing a memorable experience of how MenEngage integrates youth voices and leadership, Tivia Collins, Assistant Professor in the Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies Department at Wake Forest University, and Youth Reference Group member Caribbean region, recalled her experience during the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) 68 parallel event: Engaging Men in Feminist Change & Intersectional Youth Leadership Dialogue.

The CSW session on March 11, 2024, was an intergenerational dialogue that centered youth engagement as part of broader feminist activism working to engage men and boys about feminist systems change. This session affirmed MenEngage’s commitment to ensuring young people are empowered to contribute their perspectives, share their experiences, and influence policy discussions on a global stage. 

 

To learn more about MenEngage’s commitment to strengthen youth leadership and participation see Youth Strategy of MenEngage Alliance.