Our primary intervention with young men, the Action for Equality Programme(AFE), is divided in three stages – Foundation Programme, Action Programme and Leadership Programme. In January 2016, we completed the 14th programme cycle and here are some highlights:
Out of the 305 boys from 19 communities who enrolled for the programme 182 graduated by demonstrating consistency and active participation. 4,087 adolescent boys have participated in the Action for Equality Programme till date and pledged to become allies with women to support gender equality in their communities.
- Community Committees:
30 participants of the Leadership Programme initiated pilots of seven Community Committees(CCs).
What are CCs? They are a platform for our community leaders and their communities to meet in finding sustainable solutions to prevent violence and discrimination against women and girls locally.
- Intensive Mentor Training:
A weeklong Mentor Training was organised in the month of February 2016. The focus of this training was to better understand the indicators of behavioural change and to improve our ability to mobilize communities.
See pictures of our team in action
- Theory of Change:
Our Programme team put our heads together for the integral question: What is the impact that we want to achieve through our Action for Equality Programme? Progamme Directors, Managers, Associates, Mentors and Community Leaders brainstormed extensively on our Theory of Change model with the objective of ensuring that every single person in the team was on the same page.
Here is our theory of change for Action for Equality Programme.
- Action Events:
Going beyond classroom learning, our participants organized Action Events to initiate a dialogue with their communities. Our participants conducted an opinion poll with their community members on questions related to women’s right to education and freedom of movement. Interestingly, one of the concerned parents counter-questioned the young men about safety of girls if they left their house late at night. Our participants had an inspiring answer: “Instead of restricting girls from going out, boys must change their attitudes and behaviours”.
Know more about the Action Events
- Big Meet and Greet:
We’re proud to announce that our young participants organized the Big Meet and Greet for approximately 200 volunteers from 19 communities in Pune. Volunteers shared their experiences and inspired each other through it. We also welcomed new volunteers on board.
Read more about Big Meet and Greet