Mænds Mødesteder (‘Men’s Sheds’) in Denmark
Background
Men’s Health is formally acknowledged as an issue in Denmark in the first official report on Men’s Health In Denmark, titled ‘Men’s health: The health status of men in Denmark and a review of effective interventions for promoting men’s health.
Mænds Mødesteder (in Danish, effectively ‘Men’s Meeting Place’) is an initiative of the Forum for Maends Sundhed (Men’s Health Society), Denmark. The Society is a multidisciplinary organisation dedicated to the field of men’s health in all its aspects. The Society is a member of ‘European Men’s Health Forum’ (EMHF) and ‘Global Action of Men’s Health’ (GAMH).
When The Men’s Shed Movement book was published in 2015, only one ‘Men’s Shed ‘(Mænds Mødesteder, Stevns, opened April 2015) was listed. Mænds Mødesteder are still growing in Denmark. To date (August 2018) there are approximately 30 open or soon to open and most have their own website. Each ‘Shed’ that wants to have a site can post activities and write about their shed or add pictures. The site is www.mmdanmark.dk. On this website you also can see the guidelines for any municipality or other interested organisation that wants to open up a Mænds Mødesteder https://www.mmdanmark.dk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/M%C3%A6nds-M%C3%B8desteder-drejebog-nettet.pdf
Sincere thanks to Mie Møller Nielsen Head of Office (Head Office, 74, 3.sal 1620 København, see www.sundmand.dk) based in Copenhagen, Denmark for the updated information below.
Mænds Mødesteder in Denmark to August 2018
At the moment there are approximately 30 Mænds Mødesteder open or soon to open Below is a list by year of where and when a Mænds Mødesteder has opened in Denmark (or is soon to open, to August 2018) since the program started in 2015.
2015: 7 opened, one has since closed
2015 Feb. Mænds Mødesteder – Sjakket Bornholm
2015 April Mænds Mødesteder – Billund
2015 April Mænds Mødesteder – Stevns
2015 April Mænds Mødesteder – (Trige, Frydenlund og Herredsvang, Vandtårnsområdet i Aarhus)
2016: 11 opened, 2 have since closed
2016 Feb. Mænds Mødesteder – Skaldborg Mandeklub Aalborg
2016 March Mænds Mødesteder – Odsherred
2016 April Mænds Mødesteder – Bryrup
2016 June Mænds Mødesteder – Horsens(closed)
2016 June Mænds Mødesteder – Glostrup
2016 Aug Mænds Mødesteder – Høje-Taastrup(closed)
2016 Sept Mænds Mødesteder – Brøndby
2016 Sept Mænds Mødesteder – Kjellerup
2016 Oct Mænds Mødesteder – Sønderborg
2016 Nov Mænds Mødesteder – Greve
2016 Nov Mænds Mødesteder – Ringsted
2017: 7 opened
2017 Jan Mænds Mødesteder – Esbjerg
2017 Feb Mænds Mødesteder – Tårnby
2017 Feb Mænds Mødesteder – Frederiksberg
2017 May Mænds Mødesteder – Egedal
2017 Sept Mænds Mødesteder – Korsør
2017 Sept Mænds Mødesteder – De Fynske Alper (Faarborg-Midtfyn)
2017 Nov Mænds Mødesteder – Silkeborg
2018: 4 opened to August (3 in development*)
2018 Feb Mænds Mødesteder – København N.
2018 March Mænds Mødesteder – Rebild
2018 April Mænds Mødesteder – Pusterummet (Holstebro)
2018 May Mænds Mødesteder – Farvskov
*2018 Nørresundby (Aalborg)
*2018 Randers
*2018 Haslev (Faxe)
We don’t know exactly how many men (in total) are using the Mænds Mødesteder, but we expect it to be around 700 men. There now is a Mænds Mødesteder in every region in Denmark, and 22 out of 98 municipalities has a Mænds Mødesteder in Denmark, with some municipalities already having more than one.
Karlar í skúrum ‘Men’s Sheds’ in Iceland
Men’s Sheds in Iceland is a project of the Icelandic Red Cross. Karlar í skúrum is a direct translation into Icelandic from ‘Men´s Sheds’ or ‘Men in Sheds’. They have started one Shed which now has 30 members and a waiting list has started to form. All the information about Men´s Sheds in Iceland accessible on line is in Icelandic. Therefore this brief English update.
There was a formal opening gathering on 1 June 2018 and Barry Sheridan, CEO from the Irish Men’s Sheds Assocation came across from Dublin and attended the opening. There was some coverage on national television and Barry was interviewed: see http://www.visir.is/k/vtv44af3779-4bb5-40a6-9587-86985a78f22e Also, there was article about the opening in a national paper: scroll down to the article on page 24 of the following link: http://www.visir.is/paper/fbl/180606.pdf
Sincere thanks to Hörður Sturluson, Project Manager, Icelandic Red Cross [ email hordur@redcross.is]. Hordur would welcome any feedback globally ‘… about the best way to make Sheds be sustainable by themself. We are planning to start some more Sheds and there is interest around the country. Does anyonehave any documents about that?
Barry Golding 