NZ Men's Issues Summit

There have been two Men's Issues Summits in NZ to date; one in May 2005, in Auckland, and another in Christchurch in August 2005.

Published Proceedings

Papers submitted by the speakers have been published by the Centre for Public Policy Evaluation : Proceedings - Men's Issues Summits 2005.

Both events have concluded with a strong sense of:

• Concern for the young men and children of the future.
• The need to stand proud of being male and the various masculinities that come from that.
• The need to raise awareness and put words to our experience between each other before talking publicly.
• The need to have a national hub or council that can talk in two directions: to government and policy makers and to men in search of improved well-being.

With boys increasingly failing in education, increasing fatherlessness, poor health amongst boys, reduced aspiration, and the subtle devaluing of males in the culture we can be very concerned about the world our boys are growing into.

Reflections on male advocacy in NZ

There would seem to be a passivity about men in NZ that has meant that it has been hard for them to find a voice. If we add to that a male negative culture that leaves men silent or defensive about being male then we also have a situation of compounding disadvantage and deficit.

Although men's consciousness-raising has only been publicly visible for about 14 years, the women's movement has been going for 40 years. This has enabled it to identify and publicly express issues that need addressing and organize action. Men have yet to do this and have a different type of disadvantage to emerge from. Women often have an interest in hurrying men along or expressing what they think is men's problems but we remain committed to the principle that only men can say what it is like to inhabit a male body in this culture and deal with the issues they express.

A national voice for NZ men

Many men have however been working with men and developing approaches to addressing these issues. These men feel ready to set up a central body that can advocate for men and through the Summits have been encouraged and commissioned to do so.

Over the next few months of 2005 the organizing speakers will be setting up a national voice that can advocate for men at government and NGO level. They will also use this website and others to meeting enquiry that is coming from men and women about the improvement of men's well-being in NZ.

Men are fathers, men are husbands and partners, men are brothers and sons, men are mates and buddies, men of the future are the boys of today, men are parts of families. Men's issues are everyone's issues because we are all connected in some way to some men in our lives.

Warwick Pudney.

Here is a summary of the Summit outcomes.

For further information or to add your name to our mailing list, please email info@mens-summit.org.nz

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Sponsors:

The opinions expressed at these events are independent and not necessarily those of the sponsors.

NZ Violence Prevention Society

NZ Father and Child Society

Nelson Malborough District Health Board

Auckland University of Technology

Waitakere City Council

Christchurch City Council

Centre for Public Policy Evaluation, Massey University

ManAlive

NZ Family Research Trust