Participants of the 'Engaging Men and Boys' training were drawn from civil society, the Government of Liberia and also included community male champions for ending violence against women.
Twenty three representatives from civil society, the Government of Liberia and UN Women Liberia implementing partners have acquired new skills in ‘Engaging Men and boys for Gender Equality and Ending Violence Against Women and Girls’. Jointly organized by UN Women Liberia and the UN Women Training Center based in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic, the four-day training focused on deepening participants’ knowledge and understanding of gender power relations, masculinity and violence against women; and strengthening participants' knowledge and skills in delivering effective training. During the Training of Trainer (ToT) workshop, participants learned and practicalized different theoretical and conceptual frameworks on understanding gender power relations regarding masculinities and violence against women and girls.
“It was important that participants were able to articulate concepts, definitions, and technical terminologies in delivering trainings or community conversations,” explained facilitator Khamsavath Chanthavysouk of the UN Women Training Center.
Addressing participants at the start of the training, UN Women Country Representative Awa Ndiaye Seck said she was impressed with the level of interest demonstrated by the participants and the interactive manner in which the training was being conducted.
Madam Seck highlighted the critical role men have to play in promoting the rights of women and urged the participants to replicate the new knowledge and skills which they acquired in their various communities.
Participants were also introduced to the different phases of the training cycle – analysis, design, development, delivery, and evaluation and they had an opportunity to plan and deliver a training session after which they underwent a peer-review process.
The exercise was intended to allow participants demonstrate their conceptual understanding of the topics covered as well as assess their training and facilitation skills.
“It was a great opportunity for me because I learnt so many new things on ‘Engaging men and Boys’ which are very important for me as a male engagement focal person for my organization. I made new friends and the training was really fun”, said Ernest Deline of the International Rescue Committee.
Another participant of the training Gervais Dro of the local NGO Servants for All Prayers (SOAP) said: “We had a great and exciting learning experience. It was highly engaging, wonderfully organized, strategically planned, and perfectly presented. We saw the true bigger pictures and the need to engage men and boys on gender equality and a new model of masculinity. I really learned new tools, techniques, skills and strategies”.
The Training of Trainer (ToT) workshop is a part of a bigger UN Women Liberia programme to reach out to men and boys at the community level and solicit their involvement in efforts to end violence against women and girls through awareness trainings and other activities at the grass-roots level.
