IndoCanadian Women’s Association, Edmonton, conducted a three-day forum on Engaging Men for Building a Healthy Community, which was funded by AABHAAR. The forum was held on three consecutive full Saturdays in October 2018.
The intent of this forum was to explore three topics with South Asian men:
- Their perception of what it means to “be a man” in the South Asian Community.
- How this perception of “being a man” relates to the goal of “Building a Healthy Community”.
- Understanding how to invite and support these men and their cohorts as partners in building healthy communities in the current Canadian climate.
The forum had a total of 33 participants over the three days. 20 of these were over the age of 55, 7 were in the age group of 22 to 54 and 6 were in the age group of 14 to 21.
The forum was conducted in an interactive narrative format including discussions in small groups led individually by skilled moderators, as well as guided discussions in a large group when needed. Care was taken throughout to provide an accurate translation, feedback, and support to participants.