The Male Link

From October 1998 - March 1999 Colin Fowler, Development Worker for The Men's Project within Parents Advice Centre, toured the north of Ireland trying to make contact with people who had an active interest in men's work/issues. During this period he met over sixty individuals or groups. However, he noticed that establishing these contacts was more to do with luck and perseverance than having a plan!

Throughout this period a lot of information was gathered about the perceived needs of local men and the actions needed to meet these needs. However, there was also a strong desire among many groups to meet other people interested in this field and to hear what they were doing. Most people felt that there is enthusiasm to do something in this area, but little knowledge of where to start or how to develop ideas further.

To meet this expressed wish, The Men's Project convened a meeting on Monday 15th March 1999 in Grosvenor House, Belfast. There was unanimous agreement at this gathering that some form of longer-term association was needed and a number of people volunteered to sit on a "Think Tank" group to refine this proposal further. "The Male Link" arose out of their deliberations.

Please click on the links below to find out more about The Male Link:

• Need for The Male Link
• Origins of name
• Mission statement
• Value base
• Aim
• Coordination role
• Membership
• Focus Groups
• Men's Attitudes and Values Research
• Man's World? Conference Report
• Making contact

The Male Link is a Company Limited by Guarantee (registration number NI42530) with Charity Registration Number XR61164