Join the #HowToTalkWithMen Campaign, 11-22 November 2024

From November 11-22, 2024, MenEngage Alliance is amplifying collective lessons-learned, wisdom, and promising strategies for engaging men and boys as allies and agents of change in the push for gender, climate and social justice. Building on the success of last year’s initiative, the 2024 campaign calls on MenEngage networks, members and partners to share their firsthand insights into helping men and boys to embrace feminist values and to take active roles in ending discrimination and violence against women, girls, and gender non-conforming individuals.

Go to the Campaign Toolkit webpage

Follow the campaign on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.

We are calling on members and partners to get involved in this year’s campaign through video messages and on social media, sharing approaches and ways they open up and sustain gender-transformative conversations with men and boys. Participants in the campaign are invited to share about a time when they put their approach into practice, and what the impact was. 

Samitha Sugathimala, Global Co-Chair of MenEngage Alliance said: “Through this campaign, we aim to spotlight the diverse, often unheard stories of how people work together with men, boys, women, girls and people of all genders and from all walks of life to invite men and boys in to step up to challenge violence and discrimination against women, girls, LGBTQIA+ groups, and break free from limiting gender norms. These stories are a testament to the transformative power of gender justice—for everyone.”

Why now, and why MenEngage Alliance?

Collectively, MenEngage Alliance members engage countless boys and men, all over the world, to embrace the transformative potential of being an ally and agents of change for gender equality—both for their own growth and to challenge and end violence against women, girls, LGBTQIA+ groups, and to end sexism and misogyny. MenEngage members have promising practices from working with men and boys in various settings, from schools to workplaces, with political leaders and decision makers, through service delivery for health and education, and advocating with people in positions of power. By harnessing these insights, the campaign seeks to demonstrate the multitude of answers to the question of #HowToTalkWithMen and boys about gender and social justice issues.

#HowToTalkWithMen comes at a critical time in which gender equality, women’s rights, and LGBTQIA+ rights are under increasing attack, and society grapples with questions of what it means to be a man, and asks what it takes for men and boys’ to be active, meaningful allies in this struggle. It is against this backdrop that the world is seeking answers to the question of how to ‘call men and boys in’ to gender equality efforts.

The campaign falls in the run up to 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence, which is a key period for worldwide action across women’s rights and LGBTQI rights movements. It runs each year from International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, 25 November, until Human Rights Day, 10 December. #HowToTalkWithMen intends, year-on-year, to strengthen the mobilisation of men and boys as allies during this key advocacy and campaigning period, as well as all year round.

Tapping into our collective voice

The campaign is co-organised by MenEngage Alliance together with regional MenEngage networks: MenEngage Africa Alliance; Caribbean Male Action Network; MenEngage Europe; MenEngage Latin America; North America MenEngage Network; and MenEngage Alliance South Asia. It has been jointly developed by regional representatives of the MenEngage networks through the Global Board, Global Communications Working Group, the Global Secretariat, and through participation with members.

“Through collective campaigning, we want to build visibility for harnessing the potential that work with men and boys has as part of broader gender justice efforts with women, girls and people of all genders,” said Joni van de Sand, Global Co-Director. “But elevating our collective expertise is just a first step. In the long term, we want to take the stories, messages, and communications approaches that most resonate with men and boys, and use our collective reach to do our part in bringing more men and boys into a vision of the future based on care, cooperation, respect, equity, and social justice for all. As the campaign grows, we look to bring in more voices, share more stories, and develop new tools to support the transformative work being done around the world.”

Join the Campaign

MenEngage is calling on all members, partners, and allies to get involved in the 2024 campaign. Whether you’re sharing a video message, amplifying the campaign, or engaging on social media, your participation is crucial in helping this campaign to contribute to the mission and vision that members of MenEngage share.

For more information, visit the Campaign Toolkit and follow us on social media at @MenEngage.