2017 AVP USA National Gathering
Boston, MA
May 26 - May 29, 2017
The theme of Gathering 2017 is:
Journey of Change: "Transforming Ourselves and Our Communities
as We Transform Conflict"
We ask: How are you being transformed by AVP? And how do you need to be transformed still?
TRACKS
in our program include:
- Facilitator Skillbuilding
- AVPUSA the organization - The business of AVP, how we operate, what we're working on now and how you can be involved.
- AVP and Criminal Justice
- Going “upstream” from prison;taking AVP to communities where violence happens before prison
- AVP biology: How the brain, thebody, and trauma relate to managing anger, keeping a healthy outlook, and tononviolence choices.
- Unity, Diversity and Privilege –Who have we excluded? Who ismarginalized? How do we bring in morevoices? How do we respect differences inconflict? How do we diversify our ownranks?
THURSDAYMAY 25, 2017
Offering 1)9:00 am - 4:00 pm - Education Committee Workshop, at Arnow Campus Center Board Room:"Exploring Diversity," A one-day, pre-conference workshop brought by the Education Committee: Participants will experience learning activities and exercises in the morning, and small groups will discuss how to facilitate this topic and develop agendas in the afternoon. This is part of the preparation for including this topic in the next Advanced Manual.Offering 2)8:30 am - 4:30 pm - Prison Day at MCI Norfolk:2450 Main St, Walpole, MA 02081***Shuttle departs at 8:00 am from parking lot at Winslow Academic Center ***
A day with incarcerated men, seasoned inside facilitators,and administration at a facility that is striving to lead. Norfolk offers innovative programming focusedon restorative justice, emotional awareness (based on the nationally recognizedHouses of Healing program) and, AVP. Join us for a day supporting, learning and celebrating the work going onat this institution.
An active group of inside AVP facilitators at MCI Norfolk will present this workshop. This is their way of participating in the AVP/USA gathering and connecting with outside AVP facilitators throughout the country. Some of the topics will be: building strong inside and outside facilitation teams, sharing stories of Transforming Power, exploring similarities and differences between the inside and outside. Registration will require Guest Clearances that will need to be submitted prior to entry. Details pending. Shuttles to Norfolk will depart from de Witt Hall at 8:00 am, returning around 4:30 pm. Lunch will be provided.
Open Retreat of the Board held at Arnow Campus Center Board RoomIs AVP-USA a Social Justice / Peace Organization? - Alternatives to Violence Project grew out of strong activist roots, focusing on "finding effective ways to communicate and practice active nonviolence." (Liveoak: Hoover interview) Ghandi called politics the "art of right action." AVP's politics is about not taking sides, but seeking to do the right thing. What is more political than actively working toward self-change of "transformation" of power structures within communities, institutions or systems?Please join a day long planning retreat as we expolore who we are idealistically as an organization, how we act upon our shared beliefs, and identify implications as wee move forward organizationally.
Open Post-Conference Planning Session (All welcome)In this session we will break into smallthematic groups to process things learned at the conference. Each group identifiesspecific action steps for C of C Board & Committee follow-up in the yearahead.
- Join us in the opening gathering to meet and greet AVP facilitators from far and wide.
- AVP and Veterans
- AVP and Youth at Risk
- an AVP Model for Deescalation Training
- AVP and New Brain Science
- Changing Prison Culture
- AVP/USA for Newbies
- Dr. Lafayette, a Founding Father of AVP
- Young AVP Building Communities of Peace and Inclusion
- Growing in the Reentry and Recovery Communities
- Communication
- Youth
- History
- Finance
- Conference
- AVP/USA Annual Business Meeting
