In-Person Trainings
Our two-day, on-site trainings aim to increase the impact of individual advocates and to provide participants with tools to increase the effectiveness of the organizations they may be affiliated with.
5 Continents
We’ve provided in-person trainings from São Paulo to Saint Petersburg and Barcelona to Bengaluru—as well as many places in between!
35 Countries
We’ve visited 35 countries, and we’ll be adding to this number soon!
Over 400 Groups
We have trained participants representing hundreds of groups around the world.
Our Workshops
Due to COVID-19, all our in-person trainings have been postponed until further notice. We are using this time to restructure our team and expand our offerings. Stay tuned for updates about our new workshops and trainers!
Effective Vegan Advocacy
- Melanie Joy
Building on the concepts introduced in Effective Communication, Melanie Joy explains the specific methods for advocating veganism. She discusses how to recognize and respond to defensiveness—in others and oneself—as well as ways to avoid getting caught up in unproductive or counterproductive communications about eating animals. She presents the basic principles of effective advocacy and applies them specifically to veganism, taking into account the carnistic mentality that often gets in the way of advocating effectively.
Effective Communication
- Melanie Joy
In this workshop, Melanie Joy explains the principles and practices of effective communication, as they apply to our personal interactions with family and friends and to those to whom we are advocating. Improving our communication improves not only our ability to convey our message, but also our sustainability, since effective communication is essential for sustainable advocacy. Participants will learn the principles and tools for communicating clearly, directly, and compassionately.
Sustainable Vegan Advocacy
- Melanie Joy
Unsustainable advocacy, which often leads to burnout, is widespread among vegans and can significantly reduce the effectiveness of the vegan movement. In this workshop, Melanie Joy discusses how to both prevent and reverse unsustainable advocacy and “secondary traumatic stress,” the stress that comes from witnessing violence. She also discusses ways that vegan advocates can increase their resilience, which increases both their sense of fulfillment and their effectiveness as advocates.
Relational Literacy
- Melanie Joy
Relational literacy is the understanding of and ability to practice healthy ways of relating. Many of the most pressing problems in our lives and our world—from animal exploitation to war and domestic abuse—have a common denominator: relational dysfunction. Relational dysfunction is also a key impediment to the success of vegan organizations and the movement as a whole, as manifested in widespread infighting, toxic communication, and abuses of power among leaders. And a staggering number of individual vegans report that the breakdown of relationships in their personal lives is an obstacle to their sustainability. In this workshop, Melanie Joy explains the principles and tools for building relational literacy, to help vegans improve the quality of their relationships and advocacy and to help build a more resilient movement and a more compassionate world.
Privilege and Inclusivity: How to Understand and Talk About Privilege to Build a More Empowered Vegan Movement
- Melanie Joy
Like the broader culture, the vegan movement has been plagued by abuses of power, from discrimination to sexual harassment. Much of the problem is caused by unexamined privilege—privilege people aren’t aware of. However, attempts to raise awareness of privilege often lead to infighting and end up reinforcing the very problem they’re trying to transform. In this talk, Melanie Joy presents a straightforward explanation of what privilege is, why it matters, and how to talk about it in a way that helps create a more inclusive and powerful vegan movement.
Upcoming Trainings
We do not currently have any scheduled events.
Want to host a training in your area?
Let us know where you would like to host the training and what organization you are affiliated with, and we’ll provide you with more information.
Drop us an email at training@veganadvocacy.org.