Advocates, practitioners and others working with boys and men in the Pacific are being sought for a Parliamentary Open Hearing to be held in Wellington in June.

The theme of the Open Hearing is Engaging Boys and Men in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and organisers say the aim of the Opening Hearing is to better understand how and to what extent boys and men are engaged in SRHR in Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs).

Pacific Parliamentarians will be invited to sit alongside their New Zealand counterparts to listen to submissions from a wide range of experts in the field and a report incorporating recommendations will follow the event.

The New Zealand Parliamentarians’ Group on Population and Development (NZPPD), in collaboration with Family Planning and UNFPA, will be hosting the Open Hearing at the New Zealand Parliament on 29 June, 2015.

People and organisations who can provide information on issues and solutions that may be used to motivate and increase awareness, action, and investment in SRHR should complete a submission form no later than Friday 15 May.

Access the Call for Submissions. 

Background

Family Planning’s International Programmes unit provides Secretariat support to the NZPPD, funded by UNFPA. The NZPPD is a cross-party group currently representing approximately 35 percent of New Zealand Members of Parliament (MPs).

The NZPPD provides a forum for MPs to engage and act on international population and development issues with a geographical focus on the Pacific.

The NZPPD has previously hosted four very successful Open Hearings. The 2012 Open Hearing focus was on ‘Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the Pacific’ and helped guide NZPPD’s international advocacy and policy strategy.