Promundo is a Brazilian NGO, based in Rio de Janeiro, that works locally, nationally and internationally to promote gender equality and prevent violence against women, children and youth. Specifically, Promundo works to: (1) research innovative ideas that have the potential to achieve positive social change and social justice; (2) apply these ideas in partnership with community groups in Rio de Janeiro, and elsewhere in Brazil; and (3) disseminate the results to organizations, governments and multilateral institutions that are well-placed to continue, expand and replicate these initiatives in the long-term and affect large-scale change.
Promundo coordinates a national alliance in Brazil to end corporal punishment, a national network to promote early childhood development and a national collaboration of youth-led violence prevention campaigns and activism -- all with the goal of promoting non-violence and gender equality from early childhood onward. Promundo collaborates with partners in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, elsewhere in Latin America, and is co-coordinator of the MenEngage Alliance, a global network working to engage men and boys in gender equality.
The Program H initiative – an integrated intervention coordinated by Promundo and consisting of group educational activities to engage young men and adult men in gender equality, community campaigns, staff training and an impact evaluation model – is now being implemented in more than 20 countries in Latin America, North America, Europe, Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Program H has been endorsed by the Brazilian, Mexican and Indian governments, and cited in the 2007 World Development Report (World Bank), UNICEF’s 2007 State of the World’s Children and UNFPA’s 2005 State of the World’s Population as an effective program for engaging men and boys in achieving gender equality.
