INTERNATIONAL MEN'S DAY 2009: HONORING MEN, HEALING THE WORLD

INTERNATIONAL MEN'S DAY 2009 is giving our Husbands, Fathers, Grandfathers, Uncles, Sons, and Brothers a voice. The theme for INTERNATIONAL MEN'S DAY 2009 is "Positive Male Role Models".

Did you have a positive male role model in your life? How did he positively transform your life? IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD(R) encourages you to take a moment to celebrate and remember the contributions of the positive male role models that have positively transformed your life, your family, and/your community.

INTERNATIONAL MEN'S DAY 2009 is of particular importance to our young males. As our sons make their journey from childhood to adulthood, they need to see and feel that Men play an important role in our families, our communities, and our world.

Our sons need to hear their Fathers, Grandfathers, Uncles, and Brothers laugh. They need to hear the men in their families and in their communities talk about what makes their heart sing and about issues that impact their health, their ability to raise a family, and to go out into the world and earn a living. We cannot afford to have our sons thinking and believing that they have no options and that their feelings, ideas, and contributions will not and do not matter. If we continue to allow that to happen, we are creating a recipe for disaster.

While INTERNATIONAL MEN'S DAY 2009 is about Men and Boys, it is also about healing and a coming together of Men, Fathers, Women, Mothers, health care professionals and providers, social services professionals and providers, educators, religious leaders, legislators, legal professionals, Men’s Groups, Fatherhood Practitioners, and Fatherhood organizations to engage in an honest and productive dialogue that not only identifies the serious issues that Men and Boys have, but to also share information about ideas and programs that have a successful track record in resolving those issues and the best way to implement them.
We don’t have to reinvent the wheel in order to provide Men and Boys with the resources and support services they desperately need. To a degree, we already have what we need.

It is IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD(R)'s hope that INTERNATIONAL MEN'S DAY 2009 will move us all to form strategic alliances that transcend the boundaries of geography, language, culture, politics, economics, and ethnicity and work together in a collaborative and loving spirit to empower Men and help them to strengthen their families, their communities, and to make Planet Earth a better place to live for everyone.