Arrival and registration
Coffee, name badges, and your first look at the themed boards that will carry the day’s work.
> boot fmb_forum.sys [OK] > locale BERLIN / DE · central, well-connected > date SATURDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2026 > language ENGLISH > status REGISTRATION NOW OPEN
The Future of Men & Boys Berlin · 2026
A one-day forum where research meets practice on inspiring positive, equitable, and caring masculinities. Amid growing backlash against progressive values, feminism and democracy, the Forum brings together participants from politics, academia, men’s studies and civil society to focus on solutions.
Format Panels · lightning talks · work panels
Who it’s for Academics · politicians · practitioners
Language English
Setting One room
One day in Berlin — Saturday 21 November 2026.
Parallel signal
The day after: following the German Federal Ministry’s international conference on boys and men on the preceding Friday, the Forum offers an opportunity for even deeper reflection and active exchange on related and emerging topics.
CH.02 / ABOUT
Built for people
Why this day
Built for people
who shape this work
Amid growing backlash against progressive values, feminism and democracy, the Forum brings together participants from politics, academia, men’s studies and civil society to focus on solutions.
The aim is to facilitate direct exchange across the sector, allowing participants to explore the wheels already invented — proven strategies, successful models, and effective interventions — and adapt them to their local contexts. We are particularly keen to create an environment where researchers discover insights from field experience, while practitioners and policymakers draw on cutting-edge research to drive real impact. In the end, we will all leave having a better idea of what works and how to do it.
The Forum inverts the usual conference dynamic to give voice to you, while an expert panel asks the questions that can inspire you to develop actionable strategies for your future work. In the morning, you post the challenges you actually face and the solutions you have already tried. Only then does the expert panel take the stage and respond to your material. In the afternoon we gather in work groups to deep-dive into your priorities and turn them into specific strategies we can all use.
All participants are invited to present their own work through posters and lightning talks, and to explore synergies with other projects, organisations or active actors.
Your agenda, not ours
We set the themes. Everything discussed inside them comes from the room, on the day.
Research meets practice
Researchers gain field experience; practitioners and policymakers gain current research.
You leave with strategies
Two hours of building, then every group reports back. Not notes — next steps.
CH.03 / PROGRAMME
The day
Programme 09:00 → 17:00
The room sets the agenda in the morning; the experts respond to it after the break. Scroll to advance →
CH.04 / WORK PANELS
How the
The afternoon
How the
work panels run
The agenda is built during the morning, by the people in the room. Nothing is decided before you arrive except the themes.
We set four to five broad themes in advance. In the morning brainstorm you post the real challenges you face — and the solutions you have already tried — on the themed boards. The expert panel then responds to that material before lunch, you vote with stickers on what matters most, and the afternoon is spent turning the winners into strategies you can take back to your own work.
$ step 01 — We publish four to five broad themes ahead of the Forum.
$ step 02 — Morning brainstorm: post your challenges and your tried solutions on the boards.
$ step 03 — Move between boards. Fresh eyes on someone else’s problem are worth a lot.
$ step 04 — Over the break, the team and panelists pull out the cross-cutting themes.
$ step 05 — The expert panel discusses what you posted, not a prepared agenda.
$ step 06 — Vote with stickers over lunch. The most wanted challenges run.
$ step 07 — Two hours in parallel groups, each with a moderator, building actionable strategies.
$ step 08 — Every group reports back at the close, so the whole room leaves with all of it.
$ exit 0 — agenda belongs to the room
CH.05 / SPEAKERS
On the panels
Speakers & panelists
The expert panel responds to what you put on the boards in the morning. Two panelists confirmed, with a media or political voice and a youth representative to be announced. The afternoon work panels are each held by a moderator.
Confirmed
Gary Barker
Founder & CEO
Equimundo
Two decades of global research on the lives of boys and men. Co-founder of MenCare and MenEngage, and co-creator of IMAGES, the largest international survey of men’s attitudes on violence, fatherhood and gender equality.
Panelist
Confirmed
Debbie Ging
Professor of Digital Media & Gender
Dublin City University
Director of the DCU Institute for Research on Genders and Sexualities. Over a decade mapping the manosphere, online misogyny and the radicalisation of boys and men — most recently the influencer economy that sells it.
Panelist
TBA
To be announced
Media or political voice
A voice from public life, to keep the panel connected to how this debate actually plays out in the open.
Panelist
TBA
To be announced
Youth representative
Because a room deciding the future of boys and young men should have one of them on the panel.
Panelist
Confirmed
João Vaz
Psychologist · Executive Director
The Possible Man
Psychologist and facilitator working on men’s emotional and relational development, with years inside the corporate world before it. Certified in Gender Equality and Human Rights (OHCHR / ILO).
Moderator
Confirmed
Simon Fokt
Managing Director · PhD
PathForge
Philosopher and lecturer in ethics at HTW Berlin. Board member of MenEngage Europe, where he runs the Working Group on Positive Engagement, and founder of the Diversity Reading List.
Moderator
Confirmed
David Santos
Professor & Researcher · PhD
University of Lisbon · ITI
Researcher and trainer in creativity, communication and innovation at the Interactive Technologies Institute, working across the performing arts, technology and AI.
Moderator · tech
CH.06 / TICKETS
Registration
Tickets €35 → €100
Registration runs on an external platform. When you book, you can apply to give a lightning talk or present a poster — slots are limited and we select them in advance.
Tier_01On sale now
Early bird
€57
per seat / full day
Full access at a reduced rate. Limited availability — on sale until 21 September, or until the 25 places run out, whichever comes first. Once they are gone, the standard ticket takes over.
Tier_02Available now
Standard
€72
per seat / full day
Full access to the day: morning brainstorm, expert panel, lunch, posters and the afternoon work panels. While early bird tickets last, choose those instead — they are €15 cheaper.
Tier_03From 1 November
Student
€37
per seat / full day
Reduced rate for students. On sale from 1 November, limited number, valid student ID at the door.
Tier_04Always available
Supporter
€100
per seat / full day
Same ticket, a little extra. Available at any time, with no limit on numbers — it keeps student and reduced places open.
Every ticket includes €2 that covers the ticketing platform and card processing. Our own prices are €55 early bird, €70 standard and €35 student — we have built the fee into the price rather than adding a surprise at checkout. The supporter ticket absorbs it.
CH.08 / FAQ
Good to know
Questions?
Something not covered? Email us and we’ll answer.
QRY_01What language is the day in?
English throughout — panels, talks and work panels. You don’t need German to take part.
QRY_02Who is it for?
Participants from politics, academia, the field of men’s studies, and civil society organizations: academics, politicians, practitioners, counsellors, group facilitators, and programme staff.
QRY_03How do I pitch a lightning talk or poster?
Apply when you book your ticket — there is an option to propose a two-minute lightning talk or a poster, with space to describe it. Slots are limited and we select them in advance, so tell us early. We confirm the selection closer to the event. Posters go up at lunch beside the themed board they relate to, so your project is seen by the people already working on that problem.
QRY_04How does the day actually work?
Nothing to prepare in advance. We publish four to five broad themes beforehand. In the morning you post the challenges you face and the solutions you have tried on the themed boards, and move between boards to add perspective to other people’s problems. Over the break we read the boards and pull out what cuts across them; the expert panel then discusses that material before lunch. A sticker vote at lunch decides which challenges get worked on, and the afternoon work panels — each with a moderator — turn them into concrete strategies, reported back to everyone at the close. See how the day is built above.
QRY_05How does this relate to the Ministry conference on Friday?
The two complement each other. The German Federal Ministry’s international conference on the Friday convenes the field and presents current work. The Forum on the Saturday is built for exchange around it: you bring the challenges and solutions from your own practice or research, the expert panel responds to them, and the afternoon turns them into strategy.
If you are already travelling to Berlin for the Friday, the Saturday gives you a second day with the same field in the room and the time to work with it.
QRY_06Who is organising the Forum?
The Forum is organised by two organisations: The Possible Man (Portugal) and PathForge (Germany).
QRY_07What’s the refund policy?
Tickets can be refunded in full up to 30 days before the Forum. After that, we can no longer refund, because catering and venue numbers are already committed — but you can transfer your ticket to a colleague free of charge at any time, right up to the day. Just write to us with their name. If we cancel or move the Forum, you get a full refund.
A note on the law: under EU consumer rules, the usual 14-day right of withdrawal does not apply to tickets for events held on a specific date, so this policy is our own commitment rather than a legal minimum. Ticketing, payments and invoicing are handled by pretix, a European (GDPR-compliant) ticketing platform, which issues your invoice and processes any refund back to your original payment method.
QRY_08Is the venue accessible?
We’re choosing a step-free, accessible venue and will publish full access details with the address. If you have specific needs, email us and we’ll make it work.