AVP Britain > what is AVP?

The Alternatives to Violence Project serves those who want to handle conflict well without resorting to or being the victim of violence.  Our trained volunteer facilitators offer workshops in the community, in prisons and in other settings.  AVP is a national charity and part of an international network.

We believe that conflict is a natural part of life and that there are ways of handling it well.  In our workshops, participants draw on their own experiences to explore the conflicts in their own lives and find ways of dealing with them.  Find out what happens on an AVP workshop.

The Alternatives to Violence Project began in 1975 in a New York prison when a workshop was held to support young men to handle conflict without violence.  This generated more interest and the programme quickly spread to many other prisons and then into the wider community.

AVP has since spread to over 30 countries, including New Zealand, Costa Rica, Israel, Russia and South Africa.  A British branch was set up in 1989 and we now run around 50 low-cost workshops every year in every region of Britain.

the original version of our logo was designed by a prisoner
and shows a closed fist changing into the dove of peace