What does it mean to be a man today? What do boys learn about masculinity? What changes when you become a father? And where can men turn to talk about things that are not so easy to put into words?
With Mannen weten waarom? Spreken is Goud of De Roma and Young FENIX present an intimate evening exploring masculinity, fatherhood, vulnerability and mental health.
This is not an evening about how men ‘should’ be. Rather, it is an evening about what it means to be a man today.
Because alongside all the expectations that exist about masculinity, there are also the stories we hear less often. About searching and doubting. About shouldering responsibility and becoming a father. About wanting to be strong and sometimes not being able to. About what men share with one another, but just as much about what often remains unspoken.
During an open panel conversation, we bring together different men, fathers and generations, deliberately making space for the experiences of men of colour. We explore how masculinity, fatherhood and mental health are also shaped by background, social context and the expectations placed on boys and men.
Actor, theatre maker and writer Rashif El Kaoui will be in conversation with author Mohamed Ouaamari, Enoch Derby, project coach for the MENtors programme for men and fathers run by Young FENIX, and a youth worker of JC Bazzz.
The poetry by Yousra Benfquih puts into words what is not always easy to express.
Mannen weten waarom? does not aim to provide ready-made answers. Rather, it seeks to create space for different stories and perspectives, for recognition and perhaps also for a different conversation about masculinity. An evening for men and women, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, and anyone who wants to listen or join in the conversation.
MENtors is a programme of Young FENIX for men and fathers, bringing together boys, men, fathers and father figures to discuss mental health, fatherhood, vulnerability and connection. The initiative creates space for conversations that are not always obvious and for experiences that often remain unspoken. MENtors was recently awarded the Hugo Van Mierlo Prize, associated with the King Baudouin Foundation.
