Next Gen Men

Published purpose

Through this 26-month project, Next Gen Men (NGM) will develop and put in place a pro-feminist online community-building space to strengthen the GBV sector. It will address a significant gap in the sector: the provision of healthy online spaces for boys to explore questions of mental wellness, identity and belonging, and to mobilize as allies to prevent GBV. To do so, the project will form a youth advisory council (YAC) that collaborations with NGM staff, in fostering an online community of boys and masculine-exploring youth based on the framework of positive youth development that they will pilot, as well as develop and implement a strategy that mobilizes boys as allies in the prevention of GBV. Additionally, they will collaborate with an external partner to create a report and learning resource for youth serving organizations in Canada for the adults stewarding male-dominated youth spaces, such as sports teams and youth groups, to develop effective strategies for youth engagement online through community-building. An external evaluator will measure and assess the impact of the promising practice. Next Gen Men will produce a podcast series featuring members of the YAC to share their stories and learnings for the mobilization of boys in gender justice. A report and learning resource regarding this promising practice will be shared with the GBV Knowledge Centre and distributed throughout the GBV sector so that other youth-serving organizations can replicate, expand, and share in the mission of engaging boys and young men in GBV prevention.