30th ANNIVERSARY OF THE MANKIND PROJECT IN UK& I AT THE SILVER SKY FESTIVAL

I am much looking forward to the celebration of The ManKind Project’s 30 years in the UK & Ireland as part of the gorgeous Silver Sky Festival near Horsham in Sussex from 19th – 21st July 2024. I encourage you all to come join this event with other MKP men, their partners and their families.

To mark this significant anniversary, MKP will integrate fully into the festival: several of the UK & I founders will be part of a special ceremony on Saturday evening, there will be a delicious feast organised by our very own Tim Clements, much of the music will be played by MKP men and many of the workshops/performances held over the weekend will be led by our brothers.

The Silver Sky Festival is a coming together of UK & Ireland tribes including MKP and Woman Within. Over three days, with fifty workshops, music, dancing, feasting and laughter, this is a great opportunity to meet up with other men and perhaps women with whom you have travelled your journey. 

At the last Silver Sky Festival, I attended 4 or 5 workshops, listened to the MKP (mostly) band, danced 5 Rhythms, ate delicious food, drank delicious coffee and alcohol and generally had a wonderful time. The mood was celebratory, alongside opportunities to attend workshops for deeper work, to connect to the land, to root oneself in ritual.

Particularly enjoyable was reconnecting with men and women whom I have met over the years since I did my New Warrior Training Adventure who came from Shadow Work, Tantra, MKP, abandofbrothers, Woman Within, Women in Power, Journeyman, Celebration of Being and even from a dating app (shhhh)!

This year, The ManKind Project will have its own designated tent where men can circle, check-in and connect. I so hope that tent is filled this year, particularly as it is the 30th anniversary of when men trained in the USA first brought MKP to the UK. Since then, our community has expanded and progressed yet at its core remains unchanged in its mission and I always find it joyful to meet up with men who not only have done the work but who share the experiences of the Weekend, the PIT, the leader and staff trainings, the staffings and MoS work whether men have stayed tight to the MKP fold or whether they have spun out wider into the community.

Silver Sky was previously held in 2022 north of London and this year the festival will be in the 100-acre grounds of the spectacular Gaveston Hall, near Horsham, West Sussex, RH13 6RG. The expansive fields afford space for camping and campervans, children’s activities and tennis, walking in nature, perhaps a five-a-side game, in addition to the long list of workshops, theatrical and musical performances and that MKP Founders Ceremony on Saturday evening.

Right now, the tents are booking up and the musicians are rehearsing. The timetable is being finalised but there are always room for more workshops should you feel called to bring your passion/training/interest to share with others over the weekend. 

Silver Sky would also be grateful for anyone willing to lend a hand on Friday for set-up  and Sunday for tear-down of the site or just to help for an hour or two over the weekend to move tables and chairs. 

Tickets are still available here.

More info about the festival, including a shortlist of what is happening, can be found at www.silverskyfestival.com

And if you would like to offer a workshop, tell a story around the fire, sing a song or be part of the crew, please contact Melissa: silverskyfestival@gmail.com

I am pleased to say that many MKP men have already booked their tickets to please join us next month at Silver Sky. Bring your family, tell your iGroup or just bring yourself to Gaveston Hall from 19th-21st July. We shall celebrate MKP UK&I’s 30th in style!

- Mark F, MKP Member.

June is Pride Month- Join Us

We celebrate Pride month to publicly include and acknowledge all members of our families and communities who identify as LGBTQ+ and in the past had to hide who they were. 

Pride month is also about acceptance, equality, celebrating the work of LGBTQ+ people, education in LGBTQ+ history and raising awareness of issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community.

It also celebrates the Stonewall riots in New York, acknowledged by many as a significant part of the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.

Many Pride events will take place across the UK, Ireland, and many other countries over the month of June while they may seem fun and light-hearted the very series message at their heart is one of visibility and raising awareness of our existence.

Over the past few years’ members of the MKP UK&I GBTQ+ community and our allies have worked to make MKP more welcoming and inclusive for us. Most of our events are aimed primarily at those who use the pro-nouns he/him/his.

Initiatives include –

RICC (Rainbow Initiated Connection Circle) – A connection circle that takes place on the third Monday of each month specifically for GBTQ+ identifying members of MKP UK&I and other MKP communities. This is a space for us to connect and support each other in our journeys. 

ROCC (Rainbow Open Connection Circle) – Takes place on the fourth Monday of each month. Once again, this space is specifically for those who identify as GBTQ+. Unlike RICC, ROCC is open to anyone who identifies as GBTQ+ and is a great introduction to the work that we do within MKP.

To ensure that we are sensitive to the needs of our attendees ROCC’s facilitators also members of the GBTQ+ communities.

You can sign up for the next event HERE.

Gateway NWTA for GBTQ+ - The first gateway NWTA for GBTQ+ took place in October 2023. It is identical to our flagship training the New Warrior Training Adventure (NWTA) but has been tailored to empower GBTQ+ individuals. Most participants and staff on the GBTQ+ Gateway NWTA are from the GBTQ+ community. 

The next Gateway NWTA for GBTQ+ is scheduled to take place in October 2024 at Unstone Grange (for more information https://mankindprojectuki.org/nwta-register-gbtq-gateway-wp ).

It’s been an exciting couple of years for us going from never even imagining that we could organise a GBTQ+ training based on the NWTA to working towards making the second one a reality. It’s also been a great opportunity to connect and work with other GBTQ+ folks from other centres.

For more information about the above initiatives or how to sign up for the GBT+ Gateway please get in contact HERE.

MKP UK&I Trustee, Royston John's TEDx Talk: Unveiling the Impact of Windrush

We're thrilled to share Royston John's impactful TEDx Talk, a longtime ManKind Project member and trustee of MKP UK&I. In "The Windrush Impact: A Journey of Reflection," Royston bravely unfolds the profound effects of the Windrush migration on both adults and children.

Royston, known for delivering NCBI Equality, Diversity, and Equity workshops, was unexpectedly invited by fellow MKPUK&I man Richard Jones to share his life journey on a TEDx platform. This talk becomes a testament to the diverse experiences within our community, echoing Royston's hope that more men will find the courage to share their stories.

In this captivating talk, Royston takes us through his life's unexpected twists, from Trinidad to Grenada as a child and finally to England. His narrative, both harrowing and honest, reflects on the challenges faced during a period 60 years ago and how the Windrush phenomenon continues to impact third-generation children today.

Royston's extensive professional background as a senior manager and his transition to roles like Business Coach and EDI Specialist add depth to his insights. Having delivered over 700 workshops, Royston's commitment to building a better world is evident in his focus on compassion, connection, and humanity.

This TEDx Talk isn't just a personal narrative; it represents the strength in vulnerability within the ManKind Project. Royston exemplifies the power of storytelling to foster understanding and unity.

Watch Royston John's TEDx Talk here and share it with others. As a member of MKP, trustee for MKP UK&I, and active in the EDI group, Royston contributes significantly to our community's growth.

Let's celebrate Royston's courage and look forward to more opportunities for men to share, connect, and contribute within the ManKind Project UK&I.

A (Gay) Man in a Circle of Men (A Gateway into the ManKind Project)

I was resistant to signing up for my first Mankind Project weekend back in 2017. “Man” was a problematical word for me. It carried associations of animosity and alienation. Not really knowing what I was in for, I focused on the “-kind” and hoped for the best. 

As a gay man I was used to being in the minority, if not the singularity. Of the discoveries I made on that first weekend with MKP, I learned that men, whatever their sexual orientation, were also capable of feeling isolated and secretly different, each in their own way.

The more time I spend engaged with the Mankind Project, the more I learn about the range of individuality of men, as well as the things we have in common: vulnerability, fear, desire, shame, strength, nobility… gradually that M word is losing its intimidating power over me. 

Within MKP we have a “Rainbow Circle” exclusively for GBTQ men. We meet monthly online and have the chance to check in and share our experiences, as part of our wider interactions with MKP as a whole.

Thanks to this, six years on, I have a very different relationship with the M word. I now understand there to be as many versions of it as there are men, myself included. That said, I also find there to be a common underlying experience of something “Masculine”. It’s multi-faceted, magnificent and badly needed in our world today.

This October (2023) we’re holding the first ‘Gateway’ weekend outside North America for GBTQ+ men. It’s a major milestone for MKP UK & Ireland, and a personal one for me. 

- Aiden H.

To register for our next Rainbow Circle CLICK HERE

For information about our GBTQ+ GateWay NWTA CLICK HERE