Men Stand for Gender Equality Event: “Ubuntu - Engaging men on gender equality"

The World Food Program (WFP) and the other Rome-based agencies of the UN (FAO and IFAD) are hosting a HeForShe event on the week of International Women’s Day featuring Elizabeth Nyamayaro, founder of HeForShe and now special adviser for the World Food Programme.

The event is organized by the WFP Men Stand for Gender Equality group (MS4GE), an internal group of WFP male colleagues dedicated to speaking out against gender inequality. The MS4GE movement was established in 2015 by 24 male WFP colleagues during the 16 days of activism. The movement aims to engage WFP employees to participate in the gender equality conversation and positively advocate for men's role in this journey. Since then, more than 1,700 WFP men in 89 countries have joined the movement and become gender champions.

Demonstrating the positive impact MS4GE has on the work of the WFP and building on the inspiring work of Elizabeth, the event will highlight the importance of male engagement for gender equality with an emphasis on concrete and practical steps. As Elizabeth now works for WFP, it is an opportunity to make her work visible in the lead-up to International Women's Day. In her book, 'I am a girl from Africa,' Elizabeth demonstrates the need for men to become part of the gender equality journey by taking action and being the positive change in the world.

The book highlights the importance of Ubuntu, an African concept referring to humanness. It expresses deeply held African ideals of one's personhood being rooted in one's interconnectedness with others. Gender equality is connected to this concept – working together, men and women can achieve this common goal.