Why this work matters
Over the last two years, I’ve had the privilege of coordinating an international collaboration that is shaping how FE colleges in Wales respond to misogyny, harmful online behaviour and peer-on-peer abuse.
Its impact was captured powerfully by one young student after an event in Cardiff:
“I was at your talk today and I just wanted to say that you saved me, you changed my life. I’ve been going through so much lately, but as you said, we’re taught not to talk about it so I never even admitted it to myself that I was struggling, and your talk really opened my eyes and made me realise it’s ok not to be ok.”
This work has brought staff and students from Wales and Canada together to explore one of the most complex and urgent challenges facing society today. It has also reinforced something I feel strongly about: that meaningful change comes from openness, collaboration and a willingness to learn from others.
The Colegau Cymru-led project is supported by Taith funding and was developed in response to concerns highlighted by Estyn around peer-on-peer sexual harassment in further education. From the outset, we wanted to create something that not only addressed a local issue, but also a clear strategic priority for Wales – supporting student wellbeing, tackling gender-based violence and creating safer and more inclusive environments across the FE sector.
A Welsh response to a global problem
Taith made that ambition possible. Without the funding, the project would simply not have happened. Taith enabled us to take an international approach to what might otherwise have remained a domestic challenge. Working collaboratively with international partners brought fresh thinking, challenged our assumptions and allowed us to draw on expertise from beyond Wales.
It enabled us to learn from research, practice and lived experience in other countries, and to reflect more critically on what we do here in Wales.
In my experience, projects of this nature, which focus on sensitive societal issues like misogyny and behavioural change, are rarely supported through traditional international exchange programmes. Taith created a unique opportunity to explore this work in depth, and in a way that directly connects international learning to national priorities.
We worked with five FE colleges in Wales: Coleg y Cymoedd, Cardiff and Vale College, Coleg Sir Gâr/Coleg Ceredigion, Coleg Cambria and Pembrokeshire College. In addition, we partnered with colleges and universities in Canada to form an International Community of Practice, which gave us a dedicated space to share expertise, challenge our thinking and learn from different approaches.
Learning from Canada
A significant part of the collaboration involved exchange visits; we took part in a seven-day visit to Montreal, which was followed by a reciprocal visit to Wales. These were intensive but hugely rewarding experiences, which combined workshops, research sharing and discussions with organisations working at the forefront of prevention and education.
One of the most impactful partnerships we developed during this time was with the Ending Violence Association of British Columbia (EVA BC). They have created a training programme designed specifically for predominantly male environments within colleges and it immediately resonated with the challenges we were seeing in Wales.
We have received further funding from Taith to work with EVA BC to adapt that training, so it works in a Welsh context. The ambition is to make this available to all FE colleges in Wales. This is a key example of how international learning is directly shaping what happens on the ground for staff and students here.
Talking with young men, not around them
One of the clearest lessons to emerge from this work has been the importance of engaging young men in honest and open conversations. Too often, discussions about misogyny and harmful behaviour happen around young men rather than with them. This project challenged us to do things differently.
This led us to expand the work beyond staff collaboration and into large-scale engagement with students. We partnered with organisations including New Zealand-based She Is Not Your Rehab (SINYR) and a new community interest company based here in Wales, Our Voice Our Journey, to deliver events across Wales which focused on masculinity, relationships and respect.
FE colleges across Wales took part in these sessions. One of the most powerful moments for me was an event at Cardiff City Stadium, where around 400 young men from across South Wales came together to hear from Matt Brown from SINYR and engage in conversations which are often difficult but absolutely vital.
It’s still early to say whether we have achieved lasting changes in attitudes, but what we did see was genuine engagement. Students were listening, reflecting and participating in ways that felt meaningful. The feedback we’ve received, including comments shared directly with the speakers, suggests that these sessions are starting conversations that will continue far beyond the event itself.
Embedding change across colleges
Importantly, the impact of this project hasn’t been limited to those who travelled or attended specific sessions. One of our goals from the start was to create a multiplier effect, where learning could be shared widely across colleges and communities. Through national events, ongoing partnerships and future training rollout, that is exactly what we are seeing happen.
Within colleges, I’ve already seen shifts in how staff approach these issues. There is a growing recognition of the need for early intervention, alongside a stronger commitment to embedding conversations about healthy relationships into everyday college life and equipping staff and students with the confidence to challenge harmful behaviour.
For me, this work is also about how Wales positions itself internationally. Through Taith, we are not only learning from others but are also showcasing the work happening here in Wales to the world. There is real value in that exchange; we are contributing to global conversations on shared challenges while developing approaches that reflect our own values and context.
We have also shared our learning more widely, including through a joint workshop with our Canadian partners at the Colegau Cymru Annual Conference. These moments of reflection are important, as they allow us to take stock of what we’ve achieved and identify where we go next.
What comes next
There is still much more to come. We have started developing our new bystander training to support students and staff across Wales and the training will take place in February 2027. It will be available to all FE colleges in Wales. This will build on everything we’ve learned so far and ensure that the impact of this collaboration continues to grow.
For me, this project demonstrates what is possible when international learning is meaningfully connected to national priorities. The challenges we are addressing are complex, but through collaboration, honesty and shared commitment, we are beginning to make real progress.
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