Men At Work C.I.C. was set up by Michael Conroy to deliver transformative training for professionals in supporting the healthy personal development of boys and young men, challenging sexism and fostering violence-free relationships and communities.
To date, Michael has trained c3000 professionals in facilitating the innovative #12Dialogues for Boys & Young Men. The feedback from professionals strongly suggests it increases their confidence, knowledge and skills in facilitating constructive dialogues with boys and young men about being safe – and safe to be around.
Background
16 years in Secondary Schools in England, coordinating and delivering a wide range of Citizenship, Personal Development and well-being programmes for students in Years 7-13 as well as designing and delivering interventions for boys and peer-training colleagues.
Developed multi-school and community-based programmes and initiatives recognised by awards including a Sinnott Fellowship and a Suzy Lamplugh Young Person’s Safety Award.
Trained 500+ teachers, youth workers and others in Mental Health support for Young People, including Suicide Prevention
Trainer and facilitator in ‘Becoming Respectful’, a Domestic Abuse Perpetrator intervention programme for adult men.
Named by The Big Issue as an ‘Education Changemaker’ for 2022.
NEW: In response to rising demand for a Primary-phase resource and training, Michael has recently adapted 12 Dialogues to create ‘FOUNDATIONS’, a programme for boys aged between 9 and 12, which is being trialled in selected Primary schools.
Michael is a regular contributor to media discussions of topics including porn, social influencers, male violence, male mental / emotional wellbeing, radicalisation and misogyny. TV appearances include BBC TV (Newsnight, The Politics Show, Breakfast TV), Channel 4 and France 24, radio appearances include BBC Radio 4’s Today programme and Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio Scotland’s Morning, BBC 5 Live, the Nicky Campbell Show and LBC), while print press includes The Times, Observer, The Guardian, Le Monde and New York Times.
A selection of events to which Michael has contributed includes: National Education Union’s ‘Challenging Sexism in Schools’ conferences, National Men in Early Years Conference, Young Trades Union Conference (YTUC), Parliamentary events (Westminster): the Women & Equalities Select Committee in Parliament on the topic of Sexual Harassment and an APPG on Sex and Safeguarding in Schools, Holyrood’s Festival of Politics 2022: Prostitution – the buyers and sellers and the International Festival of Public Health, University of Manchester: ‘Gender Stereotyping Is a Public Health Issue’.
In addition, Michael co-sponsored the first global conference on the conflict between porn and effective Sex Education in schools in Oct 2021 and worked as a consultant in the planning of the Commonwealth Heads of Government’s Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda 2022, on ‘Engaging Men and Boys In Ending Violence Against Women and Girls’.
Recent large-scale Local Authority training Commissions include West Midlands Violence Reduction Partnership, North Wales Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Strategic Board, Trafford Borough Council, Lancashire County Council and Humberside Violence Reduction Partnership.