FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: ManKind Project USA
The ManKind Project USA and Gender Equity and Reconciliation International have partnered to bring a unique opportunity for men and women in a time of confusion and pain.
#MeToo has precipitated a dramatic cultural awakening to the pervasive sexual harassment and exploitation that afflict all of our cultural institutions.
Although symptoms vary somewhat by culture, gender-based injustice constitutes a global pandemic that functions as a central fault-line in all societies across the globe. Remarkable statistical research compiled by Valerie Hudson et al. shows that nations with higher rates of domestic violence are more likely to engage in warfare, and that the most reliable indicator for the peacefulness of a nation is not its GDP, or degree of economic affluence, or its religion, but its level of violence against women.
Irrespective of race, class, religion, culture, or sexual orientation, both women and men around the world grapple daily with the profound impacts of cultural conditioning around male and female socialization, gender relations, and sexuality. In every society, therefore, the transformation of gender relations between women and men is crucial for achieving sustainable peace.
Arising from our culture’s profound need for healing, a shared commitment to connection, and long-standing relationships of leaders from both organizations, the ManKind Project USA (MKP) and Gender Equity and Reconciliation International (GERI) announce a collaborative partnership. The partnership brings together MKP’s decades in social-emotional programs for men and GERI’s decades in expert facilitation in gender reconciliation to create healing and trust.
Read a full context of the collaboration here. https://mkpusa.org/mkp-geri
The collaboration will include ongoing organizational collaboration on the topic of gender reconciliation and periodic co-sponsorship of events bringing men and women together to heal gender relations. The collaboration is a significant step for both of the organizations. The ManKind Project USA has a large network of highly engaged men with experience creating safe and challenging personal growth environments. These men can play a unique role in helping other men become receptive to doing their own work, and in becoming willing to stand powerfully as witnesses to the wounding of women. GERI’s success over more than 25 years comes from its commitment to high-quality facilitation and responsive evolution over time.
The hope is to see the work and impact in the world for both organizations expanded through the partnership, bringing safety, respect, and dignity to more people.
Boysen Hodgson, the Communications Director for the ManKind Project USA, who first participated in the GERI program in 2017, said “What I remember most about my GERI experience is the profound sense of humility I felt being a witness to the real pain and impacts that gender based violence and toxic socialization had caused in the lives of the women at the GERI intensive. It reaffirmed my commitment to being a man of integrity, but also ignited a deeper fire of responsibility for myself and for the ManKind Project to support men undoing the damage caused over generations, being accountable, and modeling a healthy way of being a man.”
A GERI workshop convened specifically for key NGO leaders within the United Nations ‘civil society’ sector as well as prominent New York area philanthropists will be conducted in New York City, May 7-9, 2019. This workshop is co-sponsored by the United Nations Committee for Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns; the Forum 21 Institute; and the Nathan Cummings Foundation.
Learn more about the MKP USA and GERI partnership, including upcoming opportunities to participate in GERI’s intensive programs here: https://mkpusa.org/gender-reconciliation/
Video of GERI’s work with men and women here: https://youtu.be/LEpa0wUEBh0
