Various educational and crime indices tell the well-known story, that far too many Jamaican males have adopted dysfunctional behaviours and lifestyles.

To address these concerns, various churches and other non-governmental organisations have taken steps to stem the tide of so-called male marginalisation. This newspaper has supported such initiatives in the past and will continue to do so.

In 2004, The Gleaner staged two men-only conferences, one in Kingston, the other in Montego Bay. The desire was to augment the national conversation on positive mentoring and interventions as one strategy to curb dysfunctional behaviour among men - young and old. Those conferences led to new, positive initiatives among churches and community organisations.

Nevertheless, this newspaper is not only concerned with addressing male marginalisation, but also providing 'a tool kit' and a 'road map' to help men gain a greater sense of purpose and a better sense of how to pursue a noble brand of manhood.

National conversation

It is for those reasons that The Gleaner Company has decided to convene another men's conference, which takes place tomorrow at the Emmanuel Apostolic Church, 12 Slipe Road, Kingston.

Hopefully, the conference will ignite a national conversation and create a sense of duty among those on the periphery of the male transformation process to get involved by at least offering wholesome and positive mentorship to young males. We also harbour the hope that various organisations - government, churches, NGOs - that are concerned with rescuing Jamaican males will be spurred to work together in a more coordinated and harmonious way.

The need exists for various organisations and/or stakeholders that are concerned with the training and maturation of males to establish some kind of secretariat to give legs to the useful ideas that will be forthcoming from the conference.

Among the topics for discussion will be 'Understanding the Male Ego and Male Identity', 'Relationships and Male Sexuality', and 'Pursuing a Life Plan'. The conference does not pretend to look at all the crucial issues critical to male transformation. But, at the risk of sounding self-congratulatory, it is a step in the right direction.

Inspiring males

There is an old saying, 'There go the men, there goes the society'. The truth is, no patriotic Jamaican can truly be happy with the direction in which the country has been heading. Too many of our men lack a clear mental blueprint necessary to build a noble manhood.

If Jamaica is to experience a positive transformation, that process must begin among men. There is just too much coarseness in civil discourse, aggression on the roads, predatory sexual behaviour, and gun crimes. There is enough empirical and anecdotal evidence to show that most of it is coming from men.

There is much that we don't know about how we came to have such pervasive male malaise. Hopefully, others will convene forums to carry on the conversation. But if all this conference produces is more talk, then it would have failed.

A clear index of success will be the extent to which it inspires older men to mentor young men, and the extent to which men will, thereafter, passionately pursue purposeful lives.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.