The MenCare Changemakers will begin their journey in Reykjavík, just after at the Reykjavík Global Forum. The co-conveners will meet in person for the first time together with Equimundo and WOW – Women of the World. Together they will identify and invite Changemakers to be assigned to one of seven themed action tracks:
ONLINE: Caring online spaces, in partnership with Safe Online
CITIES: Caring manhood in cities & regions, in partnership with Van Leer Foundation
DEMOCRACY: Democracy, civic engagement & masculinity, in partnership with The Christchurch Call
HEALTH: Men’s health & health for all, in partnership with Global Action on Men’s Health
WORKPLACES: Caring manhood in workplaces, in partnership with Champions of Change Coalition
POLICIES: Men & care policies, in partnership with Alianza Global por los Cuidados (Global Alliance for Care)
EDUCATION: Boys & education, in partnership with American Institute for Boys and Men
An eighth strand of activity, led by partners WOW, is developing the role of arts, festival and storytelling as essential tools for social change.
Policy shifts are vital, but we also know that lasting change happens when culture itself evolves when people are invited to take part, to discover new perspectives, and to feel included. Through creativity and shared experience, we are able to reach people and challenge attitudes.
Across a year-long programme, WOW will be engaging the Changemakers and the wider public, in Rio and beyond, to think through and shape a global festival methodology for Boys and Men; one that can invite wide participation, discussion and share ideas across borders.
At the 2026 Summit, WOW will convene a group of world-leading artists in residence to spearhead this work. Changemakers will then experience first hand the power of festival on Day 3 right in the heart of Rio.
This work is rooted in a journey: workshops in WOW Festivals in the Northeast of England and in Rio in the lead up to the Summit, conversations with a specially curated steering group, and public events across communities. The MenCare Summit in May 2026 will be the culmination of these explorations, a moment where ideas, art and action meet to inform the methodology.
A focus on men’s role in the prevention of and response to gender-based violence (GBV) will be woven throughout all the action tracks, recognising that it is imperative that discussing and finding solutions to GBV, and where it intersects with other aspects of the tracks, features in all aspects of the MenCare Changemaker Journey.
Each action track will also include a narrative shift lens to ensure that we find ways to tell stories that create more diverse portraits of caring men and encourage wider understandings that lead to long-term solutions.