Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Justice

This November, over 500 leaders from more than 80 countries will gather in Reykjavík to exchange ideas, share experiences, and accelerate global progress toward equality and leadership. Among them are 70+ outstanding changemakers – individuals who challenge, inspire, and shape the conversations that define our collective future. We are honoured to introduce four of our Featured Conversationists: 🔹 Gary Barker, PhD, President & CEO, Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Justice 🔹 Dr. Ayesha Chaudhary, Director, WomenLift Health 🔹 Georgia Levenson Keohane, CEO, Soros Economic Development Fund 🔹 Shaila Manyam, COO, WORLD FEDERATION OF DIRECT SELLING ASSOCIATIONS Together, they represent the courage, collaboration, and creativity that drive the Reykjavík Global Forum forward. Stay tuned as we continue to spotlight more leaders who are Powering Together for Change. ⚡ Power, Together for Change! #ReykjavikGlobalForum #PowerTogether #WomenLeaders #Leadership #Equality #GlobalChangemakers #50YearsOfProgress

We’re still buzzing. Last week, we partnered with the Mental Health Storytelling Initiative (MHSI) and Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Justice to host Assembly: Stories of Boyhood & Belonging - an immersive evening at Hollywood High School exploring masculinity, belonging, and the future of men’s mental health stories on screen. Seventy storytellers, advocates, and mental health experts stepped into the shoes of “Jackson Reid,” a fictional 14-year-old navigating identity and connection in a hyper-digital world. From the lockers and cafeteria to the library and the auditorium, every detail was designed to evoke what it feels like to grow up under pressure—and what belonging might look like if we built it together. The night also launched a new Mental Health Storytelling Accelerator & Fund, offering $10K–$37.5K grants for creators developing projects across film, television, podcasts, and digital media that explore boyhood, belonging, and mental health. A huge thank you to Ashley N Kolaya, Marisa Aubin MHSI, and Equimundo for championing this work, the team who helped run this event smoothly, and to every attendee who showed up with such openness, curiosity, and care. 💡 What stories do you want to see about boyhood, belonging, and mental health (Photography: Sebastien Chiu) #NarrativeChange #MentalHealthStorytelling #Masculinity #Belonging #StorytellingForChange #EntertainmentIndustry #Hollywood #Equimundo #MHSI

The #GoodChildhoodReport 2025 is here and one thing is clear: teenagers are under pressure from all angles 💢   Behind the statistics in this report are young people’s real lives and experience. Knowing this means we cannot look away.   Children’s wellbeing is still in decline. We cannot allow this to be our normal, it is time for change.   The Government must make children’s wellbeing a priority.   Read the full report on our website now: https://lnkd.in/dvF4yXvZ   #GCR2025 #GCR #Wellbeing #Teenagers

Meeting Boys Where They Are With Roblox making headlines this week after the AWS outage, I was reminded of an initiative that deserves far more attention. A couple of months ago, Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Justice and Next Gen Men launched Unlock You! — an innovative two-player obstacle course on Roblox. On the surface, it’s just a fun co-op game. But look closer, and it’s one of the smartest, most hopeful experiments in reimagining masculinity I’ve seen. The game is built around Equimundo’s “Man Box” — a framework that explores the rigid rules many boys are taught to live by: - Men should be tough and suppress emotion. - Men should always be in control. - Men should view women as property or conquest. - Men should reject anything “feminine.” - Men must be heterosexual. - Men should rely only on themselves. - Men must dominate other men — and anyone seen as weaker. It’s a box that limits men, harms relationships, and reinforces the very inequalities that hurt us all. Unlock You! invites boys (and men) to break out of that box — not through a lecture, but through play. To complete the game, players must cooperate. They navigate mazes built from outdated norms, balance on beams representing fragile ideas like self-esteem and appearance, and learn to ask for help when self-sufficiency falls short. It’s social–emotional learning in action. Vulnerability disguised as gameplay. A space where teamwork, empathy, and communication are rewarded — not punished. And that’s what inclusion looks like when we meet people where they are. Not in a boardroom. Not in a classroom. But in a world where they already feel safe, curious, and open. Because if we truly want to change culture, we can’t just invite people into our spaces. We need to join them in theirs. Perhaps that’s the real leadership challenge — not expecting others to adapt to our language or comfort zones, but learning to step into theirs. What could change if more leaders — and more men — started meeting people where they are? ♻️ Repost if you agree and follow me for insights on inclusive leadership, healthy masculinity, and male allyship. #HealthyMasculinity #GenderEquality #CultureChange #MenAndBoys #MeetingPeopleWhereTheyAre

Are you looking to embed gender equality through your school? Lifting Limits is a programme that helps educators support young children to overcome gender stereotypes. Join us on Thursday 20th November for our next online training day to enable you to lead the Lifting Limits programme in your school. With access to a full package of resources from EYFS to KS2, we will explore gender stereotypes and learn how to challenge them so children in the classroom can break down barriers and reach their full potential. For costs and more details, please email liftinglimits@childrenssociety.org.uk

Feminist Foreign Policies have gained momentum in recent years (thanks to decades of #feminist advocacy and organising). But what do feminist foreign policies say about the engagement of men and boys? We looked at all of them and examined how governments with feminist foreign policies address the engagement of men and boys. This report shares our analysis: https://lnkd.in/e8saigpG We launch the report today, as governments and civil society come together in Paris, France to talk #FeministForeignPolicy At the #FFPconference We believe that a strategic, feminist-led inclusion of men and masculinities can add value to achieving the transformative aims of feminist foreign policy. If you’re interested in exploring how engaging men and boys and transforming patriarchal masculinities can strengthen feminist foreign policy, this document offers critical insights. #FFPConference #MenAndBoys #Masculinities #Masculinity #Feminism #ForeignPolicy #Advocacy