The Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) is a non-profit educational corporation which began nonviolence training in prisons in the USA in 1975. This prison training soon revealed that the violence in prisons is just a distilled version of the violence in society and that nonviolence training is needed as much outside prisons. AVP has since spread to nearly 80 countries worldwide and is having a consistently positive impact in government corporations, NGOs, schools, universities, prisons, religious organisations and communities. The first workshops in Southern Africa were conducted in 1995. Since then the programme has grown steadily and currently there are active groups in Gauteng, Eastern and Western Cape as well as KwaZulu Natal, Namibia and Zimbabwe. The focus of AVP is on the individual or group lived experience of conflict and workshops area semi-structured process of self-reflection and sharing, especially with regard to how violence is often normalised and unconsciously internalised. In a safe and confidential environment, participants are guided to search within themselves for solutions and develop their natural abilities to resolve conflicts without resorting to violence. In this way the AVP process moves upwards from the individual through the group to the community, rather than downwards from the top to the masses and relies on the wisdom of participants instead of trying to impose solutions.
With its five central pillars of affirmation, communication, cooperation, community building and creative conflict resolution, AVP comprehensively introduces strategies for de-escalating potential confrontations in any cultural environment. Research studies in different countries have shown how AVP successfully addresses the important psychological need for authentic connection with others and significantly assists participants to change their inner world in ways that impact positively on their outer world.
GenderWorks co-ordinates and offers the AVP programme as follows:
3-Days Basic Workshop
3-Days Advanced Workshop
3 Days Facilitator Training Programme