The AllMen Project: January 2013

Wednesday 30 January 2013

AllMen Integral Men's Group pilot starts in February 2013

The AllMen Project will be piloting an Integral Men's Group in February/March 2013. This is in line with one of our Top Ten Goals For 2013 which is to develop a means of delivering personal development to our community of empowering individuals.

If you interested in taking part in this pilot then we'd love to hear from you.

You can find out a little more about the group by reading our previous post about the Integral Men's Group (and the comment below may also be of interest)

To dates for the pilot group are:

Monday 5th February
Thursday 14th February (Yes Valentine's Day)
Monday 19th February
Thursday 28th February
Monday 5th March

If you want to come along to all or most of these sessions then please email glen@glenpoole.com or call 07981 334222 for more information and to reserve your place today.

Tuesday 29 January 2013

Planning The Third National Conference For Men And Boys

One of our Top Ten Goals For 2013 is to host a national conference in September in 2013.

In line with our methodology the conference will be a living demonstration of the AllMen Project's commitment to develop, pioneer and champion an integral approach to working with men and boys.

Amongst other things this means that (following in the footsteps of its predecessors) The Third National Conference For Men And Boys will welcome and encourage many approaches to working with men and boys and value what works for different people in different contexts.

And we will seek to foster greater understanding and connection between the many different aspects of the men and boys' sector in the UK.

To help make this happen three members of our leadership team have joined forces with a team of volunteers from our wider community to being to plan The Third National Conference For Men and Boys which you can see taking shape on this temporary conference blog.

AllMen Leadership Team Meets For First Time

The AllMen leadership team met for the first time yesterday (Monday 28th January) - in line with the first of our top ten goals for 2013 which is to create a leadership team that meets eight times this year.

It's a leadership team with a difference - founded by four men and one woman - with no agenda, no minutes, just a commitment to create and hold a space where the vision and mission of the AllMen Project can come to life.

Our aim is to be at the heart of a community of empowering individuals making a collective difference for men and boys. And we've purposefully created the 'leadership team' as a space for thinking and being - and not a space for doing.

So our starting point was simply to come together and explore what that community might look like and why it is important to us.

One of the disadvantages of a free-flowing approach to community building is that it can be difficult to capture and share the magical experience of being in the moment of creating something new with a team of empowering individuals.

My commitment is to share this unfolding journey so that it can make a difference to people all over the world who are committed - like we are - to making a difference for men and boys.

For now, the best I can communicate is that the journey has begun- we have taken our first baby step - and we will be sharing much, much more of The AllMen Project adventure as it unfolds and takes shape in 2013.

Please keep watching this space and when the time is appropriate get involved with this new conversation for men and boys that is The AllMen Project.

Thursday 10 January 2013

Why it's important to talk the talk about men

Today I had call from a public sector worker in an English county council who told me that my work in Brighton & Hove has been influencing the way services are shaped and delivered in her county.

She had been following my writings online and taken to incorporating many of the things she'd picked up into her own work and the work of her colleagues. She did this because she is committed to improving the lives of men and boys in her county.

I'd never met or spoken to this woman until last month - just like I've never met or spoken with the health promotion worker in Australia who I blogged about on Tuesday - but both have been generous enough to take time this week to tell me that they've been inspired by my work.

And they know about this work because I took time to "talk the talk" about the men's work I do and my vision of a world where every human of every gender is enabled to thrive and fulfil their greatest potential. And I also took time to talk about some of the best examples of work with men and boys around the world that I have been able to find (so far).

And what has inspired me to commit my life to talking the talk on men's issues is these people who have been "walking the walk" for much, much longer than I have - the people on the frontline who are prepared to be inspired by the challenge of improving the lives of men and boys and are taking action.

So how does all of this talk inform the AllMen Project.

The AllMen Project is a "community of empowering individuals making a collective difference for men and boys" and one of the three strategic objectives of the AllMen Project is "causing conversations that could change the world".

As our our community grows and becomes more potent - and our conversations become more powerful - our ability to change the world will expand.

Some of us are already walking the walk, some of us are already talking the talk and some of us doing both - and it all makes a difference - though we can't always know how much of a difference we are making - particularly when we're talking the talk.

When we talk the talk in public, for example, we don't always know who's out there in our community listening in on our conversations (until they are kind enough to email or call and let us know).

But if we want to transform the way the world works for men and boys then it's important that we keep talking the talk and inspiring and empowering ourselves and others to take action and make a difference to the lives of men and boys everywhere.

If you want to become part of The AllMen Project community then find out how you can Get Involved today.

Building The AllMen Leadership Team

The first of our Top Ten Goals for 2013 is to create a leadership team (that meets at least eight times).

I have begun to have some inspiring conversations with a handful of empowering individuals who have provided me with extraordinary support in the past year or two.

These are all people I know are committed to making a collective difference to the way the world works for men and boys.

My meeting this morning with one of the potential team members has left me empowered and brought our vision and mission to life for me, because in a community of empowering individuals, we will all empower each other.

And that's how I personally would love to see the world working, with every individual surrounded by people who love, support and empower them.

We will be announcing the founding members of The AllMen Project leadership team by the end of January, so watch this space.

And if you are interested in getting involved in our work then read about the different ways you can Get Involved here.

Tuesday 8 January 2013

The AllMen Integral Men's Group

One of our Top Ten goals for 2013 is to develop a means of delivering personal development to our community of empowering individuals.

One of the great ways for men to get involved in personal development work is through men's groups.

And because we are committed to developing, pioneering and championing an integral approach to working with men and boys we are planning to pilot an Integral Men's Group in 2013 in the Brighton & Hove area.

If you're interested in helping us pioneer and develop our AllMen Integral Men's Group then get in touch and let us know via glen@glenpoole.com.

Launching The AllMen Project

Why I'm launching The AllMen Project by Glen Poole

Today - sitting at home in the English coastal city of Brighton & Hove - I received an email from Australia that made my heart sing with pride. It said:

"Your National Conferences really excited me so much when I learnt about them and followed their development online. With a great deal of inspiration from you we will be holding Australia’s first national men’s health, well-being and relationship training seminar in March."

What this means is that a conference for men and boys that I set up in England in 2011 is making a difference for men and boys in Australia 2013.

So what does this have to do with launching The AllMen Project?

Well, The AllMen Project is a commitment to develop a community of empowering individuals making a collective difference for men and boys - because when we are part of a global community, what each individual does can have a positive (or negative) impact on every one of us.

So The AllMen Project brings a conscious intention to some of the great work that's been happening in the global men's movement in the recent years.

One of my personal highlights was the UK's Second National Conference for Men and Boys in 2012 and in particular The Big Man Gathering, an event that wouldn't have happened without the tenacious drive of the South African project manager.

It was an extraordinary gathering of men committed to personal growth, many of them informed by US-influenced movements like The ManKind Project and the work of Richard Rohr.

The work that caused me to cause The Big Man Gathering to happen was inspired by the American Werner Ehrhard, who himself was influenced by the Englishman Alan Watts who is credited with bringing Zen Buddhism to the West.

So in a sense, the positive outcomes for men and boys that arise from the Australian conference in 2013 would never have happened without a man called Bodhidharma, the Buddhist monk who developed Zen in the 5th/6th Century.

And that is the point of The AllMen Project.

We can't all be Zen Buddhist Monks who leave a tangible legacy that lasts for centuries, but we all create waves that have an impact now, tomorrow and the next day.

And in simple terms I'm launching The AllMen Project so that people who want to make waves can get together and make a bigger splash!

If you want to join me in making waves for men and boys in 2013 then I'd love to hear from you via email at glen@glenpoole.com.

The AllMen Project Core Document 2013 (v1)

The AllMen Project Core Document 2013 (v1) outlines:

To jump straight to one of these sections click on the links above otherwise scroll down to read the whole document

The AllMen Project Core Document 2013 (v1)

The AllMen Project is a community of empowering individuals making a collective difference for men and boys

Our Vision

Our vision is a world where every human of every gender is enabled to thrive and fulfil their greatest potential.

Our Mission

Our mission is inspiring an unprecedented movement of empowering individuals transforming the way the world works for men and boys.

Our Objectives

Our External Objective (The Change We Want To Make Happen In The World)

Our prime external objective is to promote the wellbeing of humanity by ensuring that every individual is just one conversation away from the help and support they need at every stage of life.

Our Internal Objective (The Change We Want To See In the Our Own Community)

Our prime internal objective is to empower every individual in our community to thrive and fulfil their greatest potential in service of the collective good.

Our Key Strategic Objectives are:

1. Causing conversations that could change the world

2. Building a community of empowering individuals

3. Developing our capacity to make change happen

Our Values:

Leadership: which means we cultivate leaders who turn problems into solutions
Innovation: which means we encourage boldness and creativity
Responsibility: which means we empower ourselves and others by taking responsibility
Positivity: which means we are proudly positive about men, women and life
Fun: because empowering individuals making a difference is serious fun

Our Methodology

The AllMen Project will seek to develop, pioneer and champion an integral approach to working with men and boys.

This will evolve over time and will initially be distinguished by three key elements:

We will welcome and encourage many different approaches and value what works for different people in different contexts
We will remember that an integral approach requires us to consider issues from the perspective of “all quadrants” – intentional, behavioural, cultural and systemic
We will consider how we can make a difference at “all levels”, particularly in relation to the 8 levels of consciousness defined in Spiral Dynamics

There are other aspects to the integral approach that we may consider and include in our work as it evolves. Most importantly we will value ‘what works’ over and above any methodology.

Our Top Ten global aspirations are that:

1. Boys from all backgrounds enjoy a great education

2. All boys and girls have access to great male role models

3, All men and boys can enjoy great health

4, All men and boys can enjoy rich, sustainable, abundant lives

5, All children and adults have a great relationship with their dad

6. We end male homelessness

7. We stop male suicide

8. We free men and boys from addiction

9. We free men and boys from crime and imprisonment

10. We end all violence involving men and boys

Our Top Ten target audiences are:

1. Leaders – people we identify as global leaders for men and boys

2. Thinkers – the writers, researchers and academics who make a difference for men and boys

3. Champions – the people who represent different communities of men and boys

4. Workers – the people employed or volunteering to make a difference or men and boys

5. Developers – mentors, trainers, coaches and gurus who help men and boys develop

6. Campaigners – the people who take action to change the world for men and boys

7. Enablers – the people whose skills and resources enable change to happen for men and boys

8. Shapers – the people who can influence and change the way the world works for men and boys

9. Advocates – those who stand up and speak out on behalf of men and boys

10. Activators - those with the power to make change happen for men and boys

Our Top Ten goals for 2013 are:

1. To create a leadership team that meets at least 8 times in 2013

2. To build a core community of 100 empowering individuals

3. To develop a means of delivering personal development to that community

4. To deliver a leadership training programme that empowers individuals to take action

5. To celebrate Men’s Health Week in June

6. To celebrate Fathers’ Day in June

7. To host a national conference in September

8. To promote International Men’s Day in November

9. To develop an online presence and following

10. To consider the benefit of establishing a vehicle for developing and delivering specific AllMen projects

Monday 7 January 2013

Our Vision and Mission

The AllMen Project

The AllMen Project is a community of empowering individuals making a collective difference for men and boys

Our Vision

Our vision is a world where every human of every gender is enabled to thrive and fulfil their greatest potential.

Our Mission

Our mission is inspiring an unprecedented movement of empowering individuals transforming the way the world works for men and boys.

Our Objectives

Our External Objective (The Change We Want To Make Happen In The World)

Our prime external objective is to promote the wellbeing of humanity by ensuring that every individual is just one conversation away from the help and support they need at every stage of life.

Our Internal Objective (The Change We Want To See In the Our Own Community)

Our prime internal objective is to empower every individual in our community to thrive and fulfil their greatest potential in service of the collective good.

Our Key Strategic Objectives are:

1. Causing conversations that could change the world

2. Building a community of empowering individuals

3. Developing our capacity to make change happen

Our Values

At the AllMen Project we value:

Leadership: which means we cultivate leaders who turn problems into solutions

Innovation: which means we encourage boldness and creativity

Responsibility: which means we empower ourselves and others by taking responsibility

Positivity: which means we are proudly positive about men, women and life

Fun: because empowering individuals making a difference is serious fun

Our Methodology

The AllMen Project will seek to develop, pioneer and champion an integral approach to working with men and boys.

This will evolve over time and will initially be distinguished by three key elements:

1. We will welcome and encourage many different approaches and value what works for different people in different contexts

2. We will remember that an integral approach requires us to consider issues from the perspective of “all quadrants” – intentional, behavioural, cultural and systemic

3. We will consider how we can make a difference at “all levels”, particularly in relation to the 8 levels of consciousness defined in Spiral Dynamics

There are other aspects to the integral approach that we may consider and include in our work as it evolves. Most importantly we will value ‘what works’ over and above any methodology.