The Next Gen Men Story
How we got here.
Next Gen Men was born out of the friendship, tragedies and triumphs of its co-founders: Jake, Jason and Jermal.
Today, we’ve delivered equity-focused educational and transformational programming to nearly 3,000 youth, and we’ve multiplied our impact through professional development delivered to the mentors youth rely on.
We’ve expanded into the workplace with Equity Leaders, our social enterprise arm. We’ve hosted monthly community gatherings in cities across Canada and online with NGM Circle.
We’ve grown into an organization that champions hope, promotes discourse, and brings something meaningful into the lives of all our community members—whatever Next Gen Men has come to mean to them.
“Next Gen Men is founded.
Inspired in part by Rachel Giese’s feature in The Walrus on the WiseGuyz program, longtime friends Jake, Jermal and Jason successfully pitch their idea for a boys program to the Movember Foundation.
”
“Our first after-school programs begin.
We pilot the youth program with two schools in the York Region District School Board. From Next Gen Men’s first-ever newsletter: “‘I was looking forward to this all day,’ said one of the boys. The rest of the group nodded in agreement.”
”
“NGM Circle launches in Calgary.
Originally called Wolf Pack, NGM Circle is hosted for the first time, as we start organizing regular community gatherings in order to foster healthy masculinity and strong social connections.
”
“NGM Circle expands to Toronto.
Next Gen Men volunteers start offering NGM Circle at Movember House, bringing together community members from across the city.
”
“Equity Leaders is launched.
Branching out to offer trainings and engagement programs in workplaces, Next Gen Men launches Equity Leaders, the organization’s social enterprise aimed at meeting the needs of the corporate community across Canada and the U.S.
”
“Next Gen Men starts training educators in person.
We host the first version of Raising Next Gen Men as a full-day professional development workshop for educators to better understand boys and masculinity.
”
“The #MeToo movement awakens.
Led by activist Tarana Burke and the resurgence of the hashtag #MeToo, a new cultural moment takes hold worldwide, leading to unprecedented awareness of the issues of gender-based violence that NGM was created to combat.
”
“Modern Manhood podcast joins Next Gen Men.
Next Gen Men begins supporting Modern Manhood, a podcast started by Edmonton-based German Villegas in 2016 that focuses on the systematic issues, struggles and hopes of masculinity today.
”
“Breaking the Boy Code podcast releases its first episode.
Soon-to-be NGM Youth Program Manager Jonathon Reed embarks on an auditory mission to centre the voices of young adolescent boys in the #MeToo era by creating Breaking the Boy Code, a podcast that revolves around their stories and experiences.
”
“NGM Circle launches in Edmonton.
Next Gen Men collaborates with grassroots organization Men Edmonton to continue hosting regular gatherings with their community members. Within a few months, NGM Circle expands to Medicine Hat in partnership with the folks at Sanaré Centre.
”
“There is a high-profile incident of sexual violence at an all-boys school in Toronto.
Jonathon is asked to contribute to a national conversation about boys, bullying and hazing, and begins piloting Next Gen Mentors as a way to empower educators within their own school communities.
”
“We partner with Shift on the national Forging Ahead project.
Next Gen Men collaborates with Shift: The Project to End Domestic Violence and Women and Gender Equality Canada to lay the foundation for a national network of leaders and organizations engaging men and boys on gender equality.
”
“NGM Circle gets started in Vancouver.
Next Gen Men’s community events reach the west coast of Canada. At this point, Next Gen Men hosts regular NGM Circles in five communities across Canada.
”
“COVID-19 becomes a global pandemic.
School closures, stay-at-home orders and border restrictions shift the global landscape while Next Gen Men pivots to offering events, programs and training opportunities virtually.
”
“Cards For Masculinity card deck is released.
Our youth and community teams design Cards For Masculinity, a discussion prompt deck for boys to explore masculinity in meaningful conversations with one another.
”
“We run a virtual summer camp for youth using Discord.
After piloting a program on Zoom, Next Gen Men continues trailblazing online youth facilitation by hosting a Discord server for regular summer programming in the midst of COVID-19.
”
“Our members come together.
Next Gen Men invites its community to support the heart of the mission for boys and men to feel less pain and cause less harm by becoming monthly subscribers through Next Gen Menbership.
”
“NGM Boys Club becomes our hub for virtual youth programming.
Next Gen Men’s youth team commits to supporting youth throughout a challenging school year (and beyond) by transforming our Discord server into a daily community for boys and nonbinary youth in Grades 7-9 called NGM Boys Club.
”
“We crowdfund and publish the Future of Masculinity zine.
With the support of our community and contributors across the USA and Canada, NGM’s content team creates the Future of Masculinity Zine, a positive and progressive exploration of masculinity and Next Gen Men’s largest crowdfunded project.
”
“We introduce Raising Next Gen Men, a transformative online course.
Built on broad research and deep experience, Raising Next Gen Men is offered to the world as a master class exploring boys’ experiences with masculinity and the role of committed mentors in supporting them.
”
What’s next?
We have a lot in the works, but we don’t know exactly where our path will take us on the journey towards a future where boys and men experience less pain and cause less harm.
Here’s what we do know: we are our community, our community is you, and together, just wait and see what we can do.