Men’s Business

In patriarchal cultures parenting is a woman's business solely. This often leads to an increased potential for conflicts within the family system as well as to a challenging childhood for the offspring. Making use of proper parenting skills is of equal importance for both men and women! Therefore, native-speaking moderators receive trainings in educational work to in turn pass on their expertise to fathers from migrant communities at so called „men's tables““. Those „men's tables“ take place in private homes, public libraries, clubrooms or mosques.

Refugees often live in seclusion; they also balance and live between the cultures of their host and home countries. Mothers are often overwhelmed to raise their children without the support of the children’s fathers. As a result, many expectations are placed on mothers and families in the new country.

In the spring of 2019, the first three men from Chechnya, Somalia and Syria participated in the training course at the Catholic Educational Centre in Vienna. Since this first workshop, the trained moderators have each gathered six to eight fathers from their diaspora communities in a “men's table”, where they discuss education and social support in their mother languages.

We work together with immigrant families in Vienna, in particular young men and their fathers. The men’s tables are held in homes, public libraries, association clubhouses, and mosques. Moderators work together with the Catholic Educational Centre for training and facilitating men’s table events.

There are monthly “men’s tables” in three different communities and languages with four trained moderators. We offer 40 to 80 men's tables each year and reach between 300 to 400 fathers. We hosted talks with topics ranging from finances to supporting children struggling in school.

The project will train four to eight additional men as facilitators in the coming year. We also want to connect and implement this project with Turkish and Afghan communities.