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Men’s Sheds or Community Sheds are non-profit organisations that originated in Australia, to advise and improve the overall health of all males. However they have expanded their remit to anyone regardless of age or gender. In many ways they parallel the growing Hackerspace movement which has similar aims and mechanisms, albeit Hack/Maker spaces are more explicit about their inclusion of all ages and genders. They normally operate on a local level in the community, promoting social interaction and aim to increase the quality of life. There are over 900 located across Australia, with thousands of active members.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=What is a Men's Shed )〕 Men’s Sheds can also be found in Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland, Finland and Greece. ==History== In Australia in the 1990s a number of issues were raised about Men’s health. In Australian culture there was little encouragement for men of all ages to socialize and discuss their feelings and wellbeing. This problem was identified at a Men’s Health Conference in the mid-90s and plans were put in place to improve a number of aspects relating to Men’s health.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Australian Male Health )〕 The conference in question took place in 1995, and was the first National Health Conference dedicated to men in Australia. It was suggested that Men’s Sheds could help promote social interaction and reduce depression related illness in elderly men.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Mens Sheds - A Strategy to improve Male Health )〕 After the conference, a number of Men’s Sheds began to form across Australia. Men’s Sheds originated from the shed in a backyard scenario, where a man would go and carry out tasks, such as restoring furniture or fixing lawn mowers. The first Men’s shed was Lane Cove Community Shed, which was founded for “Shedless” men. The Shed also encouraged social activities and friendships, while providing vital health information to its members. Since then a number of articles supporting Men’s Sheds have been published, stating they help increase the length and quality of life of elderly males. Since the emergence of Men’s Sheds in 1996, the number of Sheds has grown year on year. The main aims of a Men’s Sheds have also become much more varied since their foundation. Men’s Sheds are also active in a number of other countries, mainly based throughout Europe and South Asia. This includes around 30 Men’s Sheds in New Zealand〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Mens Sheds - New Zealand )〕 and almost 100 in Ireland.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Mens Sheds - Ireland )〕 In many ways Men's Sheds can be seen as extension of the original 19th century idea of Working men's club's in the UK and Australia: ""to provide recreation and education for working class men and their families"". In time Working men's clubs increasingly focused on charitable work and recreational activities typically associated with pubs. Whilst acting as hubs for information exchange, the community educational aspects foundered, as men's sheds remained in people's homes typically at the bottom the garden. The Australian Men's Shed Association was established in 2007 by the Australian independent community based Men's Sheds to represent, support and promote the Mens Shed Movement and to act as a central hub for information exchange. The Australian Mens Shed Association is funded by the Federal Government to provide initial and ongoing practical support for the development of all Mens Sheds.〔http://www.mensshed.org/home/.aspx〕 The first country in the Northern Hemisphere to have an association is Ireland, where the Irish Men's Sheds Association was established in 2011 to support the development and sustainability of Men's Sheds.〔http://www.menssheds.ie/about-us/〕 The member Sheds of the Irish Association are from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. One notable difference between the Men's Sheds in Australia and Ireland is the age demographic of the participating men; in Ireland men of all ages participate while in Australia it is mostly retired men. In February 2013 Westhill & Districts Men's Shed opened its doors as a constituted charity, to be the first Men's Shed following the Australian model in Scotland. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Men's Sheds」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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