Regional curricula development initiative in East, Southeast Asia and the Pacific moves forward

Activists and practitioners working for gender justice and violence prevention in East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific met in Bangkok recently to outline a collective approach for knowledge creation and sharing across the region. “By pulling together regionally and developing a body of knowledge and strategies for action that is pertinent to the experiences of our countries, we will strengthen and inspire our work and ultimately empower ourselves and those we work with” said Undarya Tumursukh, the National Coordinator of Mongolia Feminist Network. “Our work is about transforming communities, attitudes, and behaviors on masculinities as a way to prevent gender-based violence,” said Nur Hasyim, Coordinator of the Men’s Programme of Rifka Annisa in Indonesia, “It is important to collectively improve our understanding, perspective, skills, and strategy on how to challenge masculinities and patriarchies.” Participants outlined the plan to develop a regional curriculum that will be based on their own knowledge and experiences and thus offer more relevant and effective approaches to eliminating the root causes of gender inequality and violence against women. The meeting, “A Regional Initiative on Community, Curriculum & Capacity Development,” was organized by Partners for Prevention on December 13-15 in Bangkok, Thailand. The meeting brought together 12 participants from Cambodia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Fiji, the Philippines and Vietnam representing NGOs and UN projects in the region that are engaging boys and men as allies for gender justice and ending violence against women. As a result of the meeting, a core group of activists and practitioners committed to moving the process forward in 2011 by developing the curricula and expanding membership of the knowledge sharing network.