Väter Aktiv, a MenCare partner in Italy, works to make services and programs more family- and father-friendly, in conjunction with its organizational partners. The organization is committed to creating vibrant father-child relationships and aims to close the gap between attitude and practice in order to promote men’s active involvement in childcare.
In 2017, Väter Aktiv worked with photographer Alfred Tschager to explore day-to-day family life, photographing the ways men break gender stereotypes around caregiving roles. With support from the medical field, the traveling photography exhibition – called Fathers in the Picture – was displayed in several hospitals throughout the Alto Adige province in northern Italy. Along with the touring exhibition, Vaeter Aktiv hosted Round Table Talks to facilitate discussions about the role of fathers around birth and the first three years of children’s lives. Bringing together expecting parents from different organizations and of various professions, the roundtable offered the opportunity to share personal experiences on topics like the importance of engaged fatherhood for the well-being of children and partners; work-life balance; paternity leave; and a father’s role during labor.