Celebrating and Commemorating 50 Years of AVP
In May 2025, three of our dedicated AVP Ireland facilitators – Charming Claire, Dazzle Donna, and Gentle Jenny – travelled to New York to represent AVP Ireland at the 50th Anniversary Gathering of the Alternatives to Violence Project, organised by AVP-USA and AVP International. Over five transformative days at Manhattanville University, our facilitators joined a global community to reflect, celebrate, and build the future of AVP.
The gathering brought together more than 150 AVPers from around the world – from Kenya to Bolivia, New Zealand to Uganda – each sharing stories of resilience, growth, and the unique challenges faced in delivering AVP workshops in diverse settings. Claire and Donna shared AVP Ireland’s learnings from the past few years and highlighted the powerful contributions of our prison-based facilitators. Art, poetry, crafts, and testimonials were displayed and deeply appreciated by the international community.
Among the highlights was a visit to Green Haven Prison, where AVP first began in 1975. Over 100 attendees joined incarcerated facilitators for a day of shared activities, meals, and meaningful dialogue – a profound return to the roots of our shared movement.
Furthermore, Claire and Donna led a breakout session on Male and Female Awareness workshops. AVP Ireland developed the Female Awareness manual a couple of years ago to foster reflection for incarcerated people in women’s prisons around gender, power, and privilege. We have also continually worked on adapting the Male Awareness workshop – which focuses on masculinities and their connection to violence – to the needs of our AVP community in Ireland.
Evenings brought cultural sharing: Claire and Donna sang Dirty Old Town, while other groups offered Tai Chi, poetry, and powerful theatre from formerly incarcerated performers.
From deep reflection to joyful connection, this gathering affirmed that we are part of something much larger – an international family committed to nonviolence, dignity, and transformational learning. As Donna beautifully put it:
A heartfelt thank you to all who supported our participation! We return inspired and more connected than ever, eager to follow up on the wonderful connections made and the ideas that emerged from the event.
