Philosophy of AVPQ  worldview features



  • The Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) is a multicultural, independent, non-profit organisation of trained volunteers offering experiential workshops that empower individuals to liberate themselves and others from the burden of violence.
  • We build on a spiritual base of respect and caring for self and others, working both in prisons and with groups in the community.
  • We believe that there is a power for peace and good in everyone and that this power has the ability to transform violence.
  • We work towards the creation of a nonviolent society. Our goal is to reduce the level of violence by reducing the need that people feel to resort to violence as a solution.
  • Our process uses the life experience of participants as a learning resource, drawing on that experience to deal constructively with the violence around us and in our lives. We do our training where violence is found: in our prisons and in our communities.

Some features of the AVP worldview are:


Transforming Power


The true source of nonviolence is spiritual power. When allowed to work through us, it can manifest as the power to transform violent situations into peaceful ones. We call this Transforming Power. AVP works to reveal the Transforming Power that each person has to promote peace and justice.


Good in everyone


It is a basic principle of AVP that every person is of great value and deserving of understanding and respect. We believe that there is the capacity for goodness and an inner beauty in all people.


We have choices


AVP is about showing people that there are alternatives to violence and hatred. We can choose whether to be violent, or nonviolent. We can choose to be hard and unyielding, or to be loving and forgiving. No one can make us be what we do not want to be.


We are all Teachers and we are all Learners


There are no "experts" in an AVP workshop. We use a co-facilitation model, with individuals working together as equals and by mutual agreement, both in workshops and in committees. AVP is about community not hierarchy. We all learn by becoming involved. We learn by experience. AVP facilitators use experiential learning techniques with a minimum of lecture. Group discussions draw heavily on the wisdom of all participants, including but not privileging that of the facilitators. Facilitators do not provide answers but encourage people to find their own answers.

We are all volunteers


The programme is based on the principle of volunteerism. All of our workshop facilitators are volunteers. A fundamental requirement is voluntary participation in the program on both an individual and an institutional level. When the program is required or imposed by others, it is probably doomed to failure. Our workshops are about personal growth, and people can only grow when they choose to do so themselves.


Not religious but spiritual


Although initially supported by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), AVP has no religious links. The spiritual core of AVP workshops, referred to as Transforming Power, is neither a material object of worship, a restraint nor a rule but it is an invitation to look for something positive in others and in ourselves.

For more information on the AVP Philosophy in action, see the Workshops page, or Contact us for more information.