Posted 25 September 2025

The Boys’ Impact Conference 2025, hosted at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) on 10-11 September, marked another significant step forward in addressing the challenges facing boys and young men across the UK. 

Conference as catalyst for change

Opening the event, Boys’ Impact founder Dr Alex Blower reflected on the conference’s growth: from 60 delegates and six speakers in 2022, to over 200 delegates, nine exploration sessions, 29 spotlight sessions, 24 guest speakers and nine research papers this year. The scale reflects the momentum Boys’ Impact is building nationwide. 

MMU’s Professor Michelle McManus described the event as a ‘catalyst for change’, urging attendees to build new connections and keep young people’s voices at the centre of their work. 

Conference sessions: day one

Football Beyond Borders (FBB) highlighted the Lost Boys’ Taskforce ambition to ensure every young person has access to a trusted adult, responding to the stark reality that 315,000 teenage boys in England currently do not. Abdel, a participant in FBB’s initiatives, shared his powerful story. Standing before the largest group of people he’d ever addressed, he spoke about how the feeling of never being given up on changed his perspective on his own future. 

Conversations throughout the Conference reinforced that safeguarding girls and young women must begin with a pro-boy perspective, emphasising the intersectionality at play. Arts Connect’s spotlight session explored the importance of process in creative work; suggesting the processes taking place within creative environments were just as, if not more, important than the outcome. 

There was also a deeply personal and emotional talk from Dr Richard Gater, in which he took us on a journey through his early life as a ‘valley boy’ in Cardiff to a self-professed early mid-life crisis, and urged us to “stay present in the messy middle” when working with young men. 

Professor Debbie Ging examined the influence of the ‘Manosphere’, advocating for critical digital literacy to counter its appeal. Dr Ashley Hickson-Lovence’s deeply moving account of losing a friend underscored the power of writing: “When life’s off track, put pen to paper and find your way back.”

The day concluded with a Q&A led by young carers from the charity My Time. A key message from one member in particular reflected Abdel’s words from earlier in the day; trying to help once isn’t enough. Indeed, we must never allow the young men we work with to ever think they’ve been given up on. 

Conference sessions: day two

Day two focused on practical outreach and policy.

Mark Brooks and Nick Hillman highlighted ongoing work at parliamentary level by the Centre for Policy Research for Men and Boys and HEPI. Dr Blower and Dr Jon Rainford presented research reinforcing the need to listen to boys and build strong relationships, reminding us how rare such studies remain – the last time a piece of research into relationships between young men and their educators was carried out, Meta was still called The Facebook. 

Jenny Scannell (Go Higher West Yorkshire (GHWY) Project Manager and Officer) and I were fortunate enough to present on GHWY’s Speak Up, Your Voice Matters programme. We provided insight into the planning, delivery, and evaluation of the programme’s second iteration. It was great to be able present on the development of the programme, as well as promote the work of the West Yorkshire Boys’ Impact Hub. 

The afternoon saw panels of primary and secondary school leaders display their relentless commitment to closing the gender attainment gap, as well as success stories to that end. Attendees were set homework to continually reach out to schools in order to collaborate – day one’s message of not simply trying something once repeated again here. 

United Learning’s Disadvantaged Boys Pilot Project and TBS’s Boys Quadrant rounded off the event; vital examples of ‘what works’ in both research and intervention. Across two inspiring days, the Boys’ Impact Conference 2025 called on us to act with persistence, creativity, and compassion; with a clear message that we are making a difference, so let’s keep pushing. 

Get involved 

Our recently launched West Yorkshire Boys’ Impact Hub is seeking representation from school leaders, third sector and charity organisations particularly. You can get in touch using this form. 

 

Will France, GHWY Uni Connect Outreach Officer, University Centre Leeds