The 2nd annual Men’s Advisory Network (MAN) Conference entitled “From Babies to Blokes: the Making of Men” was held at Fremantle’s Esplanade Hotel from August 3 to August 6. WAAC was present at this conference, giving a voice in a general forum to the issues of gay and same-sex-attracted men and youth, and state of the HIV epidemic in Australia and close abroad.

The MAN Conference has grown from strength to strength since its inaugural gathering in 2006. Committed to making an impact on the lives and well-being of Australian men, the conference brings together a diverse range of speakers to discuss hot topics and workshop ideas. The aim is to improve Australian men’s overall journey from boyhood to manhood with the potential to have a positive downstream effect on family, friends, work life and the community as a whole.

The conference covered topics from sexuality and health, depression and suicide, body image, parenting, relationships, work-life balance to name just a few. Speakers came from all over the country and internationally to attend and to speak.

Trish Langdon, WAAC’s executive director, in her presentation at the conference elucidated the pressure on WA from overseas acquired HIV through travel to the very affordable south-east Asian countries. Besides sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Asia represents the greatest number of HIV/AIDS notifications globally.

Attendees were very pleased to see WAAC’s presence there both in the form of Trish’s well-received presentation and the daily attendance of Community Education staff at the conference stall. They fielded questions about sexual health and diversity and the services WAAC provides to assist men in maintain their physical and mental health in these areas. Sexuality and youth issues were the most popular topics of discussion at the stall.

This was a very successful foray into this kind of conference. WAAC looks forward to a greater degree of participation with the Men’s Advisory Network to promote safer sexual choices and naturalise diverse sexuality in Australian men’s cultures.