A three-day EcoMen online training united young Bangladeshis to explore care-based masculinities, challenge patriarchy and connect gender equality with climate justice and just transition through dialogue, research and action planning.
A three-day online training organised under the EcoMen initiative, focusing on care-based masculinities, climate justice and just transition, concluded on Saturday. The programme began on the evening of December 16, bringing together young participants from across Bangladesh for dialogue, learning and practical action planning.
The training examined care-based masculinities, challenged patriarchy and linked gender equality with climate justice and a just transition through discussions, research insights and locally grounded action planning. Participants explored how dominant ideas of masculinity contribute to social inequality and environmental degradation and how care-centred, gender-transformative approaches can support just, sustainable and equitable climate action.
The programme was jointly organised by YouthNet Global and MÄN, a Sweden-based development organisation, with support from the Environment and Climate Justice Working Group of the MenEngage Alliance. Organisers described EcoMen as a pioneering initiative that engages men and boys in climate action and environmental stewardship while challenging harmful patriarchal norms. The initiative aims to promote care, responsibility and gender-transformative approaches to building sustainable communities, emphasising the role of men as allies in advancing climate justice and a just transition.
Participants described the training as timely and transformative, noting that it helped link personal attitudes with broader structural challenges such as climate vulnerability, inequality, social exclusion and the need for a just transition. Organisers said EcoMen will continue with similar capacity-building initiatives in the coming months to strengthen youth leadership and advance gender-transformative climate action across Bangladesh.
The sessions were facilitated by Sohanur Rahman, Executive Coordinator of YouthNet Global, alongside Professor Martin Hultman from the Department of Sociology and Work Science at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and Vidar Vetterfalk, an international gender expert.
At the closing session, Sohanur Rahman said that addressing the climate crisis requires more than technical solutions. “Climate justice and just transition demand cultural and behavioural change. Care, empathy and shared responsibility must be central to climate action and redefining masculinity is crucial for building a fair and sustainable future,” he said.
During the training, Vidar Vetterfalk presented visuals and conceptual models illustrating the links between masculinities and the climate crisis. These included industrial or breadwinner masculinity, described as a “black fossil ego” rooted in extraction, separation and domination; ecomodern masculinity, referred to as a “greenwashed ego” reliant on technocratic fixes and narratives of green growth without systemic change; and ecological masculinity, framed as an eco perspective beyond binaries that emphasises interdependence, humility, care, reciprocity, justice, equality and interconnectedness.
Sharing insights from his research, Professor Hultman discussed the root causes of the climate crisis, pointing to climate denial, the fossil fuel industry and the rise of far-right politics, as well as their intersections with dominant forms of masculinity. He contrasted care-based worldviews with control-based worldviews, highlighting how deeply gendered power structures continue to create barriers to ecological, just and equitable transitions at both local and global levels.
Professor Hultman also stressed the importance of recognising the rights of nature and adopting gender-transformative approaches as vital pathways to advancing climate justice and a just transition. His reflections encouraged participants to view social justice, gender equality and environmental stewardship as interconnected elements of sustainable development.
The training aimed to deepen participants’ understanding of masculinities and harmful patriarchal norms and how these intersect with gender inequality, social injustice and the climate crisis. It also focused on developing practical skills for engaging boys and men as allies, fostering care, accountability and transformative action at local and global levels. Another key goal was to build reflective and participatory capacities, enabling participants to envisage and contribute to a post-patriarchal, fair and sustainable world.
By the end of the programme, participants were able to analyse different forms of masculinities, recognise harmful patriarchal norms and understand their social, environmental and gendered impacts. They are equipped to implement practical strategies for engaging boys and men as allies and agents of change, promoting care, justice, accountability and a just transition within climate action initiatives. Organisers added that participants are expected to envisage and articulate both personal and collective actions using participatory and reflective approaches in their own contexts.
