Prime Minister Bruce Golding is pushing for more effective means of reaching men in the Jamaican society who do not understand their role as fathers, leaders in the home, church and community.

Golding said it was almost impossible to establish shared values and goals because, as a nation, "we have lost a sense of who we are, a sense of right and wrong, and the understanding of how we relate to each other".

The prime minister was speaking last Saturday at the inaugural interdenominational men's conference, titled COVENANT: Jamaica's men on a mission, at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston.

Golding told the audience, "We are culturally a pluralistic society, so reaching these men will not be achieved by a 'one-size-fits-all' strategy. You will have to use all different means of reaching them. These men cannot be redeemed unless they can be reached."

He noted that entertainers may well have to be enlisted to play a role because they have a loyal audience which will listen to them.

Investment club model

Golding also advised that the country could take an approach similar to that of the investment clubs which appeared to have mastered the art of building a pyramid of followers and supporters.

"If you can bring more people to buy into this endeavour and it becomes the fashionable thing to do, you will be creating a whole army of followers and, with this kind of inspiration, we can create a new crusade and begin to see some positive movement towards changing the mindset of our men to become more responsible fathers and better leaders," the prime minister said.

He urged the organisers of the conference to join forces with a coordinating committee anchored out of Jamaica House, under the leadership of the Rev Al Miller.

The prime minister said that this committee has been mandated to come up with a national programme that will incorporate the work of all the churches, non-government organisations, community-based associations and service clubs.

The conference, organised by several church leaders, encouraged Jamaican men to assume an appropriate leadership role in society, within the home, workplace, Church and community.