International Animal Rights Conference 2014

Last month we attended what was probably the greatest four days of our lives. The people, the location, the food and the absence of profit created the most amazing atmosphere which allowed us to learn an enormous amount about activism and self-care.

The International Animal Rights Conference in Luxembourg was set in a former slaughterhouse - when you paid close attention you would notice hooks and other remnants of the building’s dark and sad past. It was incredibly empowering sitting next to fellow vegans, listening to the tactics of animal liberationists in this giant hall, knowing that this is the place thousands of animals were murdered ruthlessly. We reclaimed it and made a powerful statement with our sheer presence - around 400 people from all over the world attended!

The Movement for the abolition of meat as well as
many other vegan organisations occupied the former
abattoir with their materials for four days.

Out of those almost 400 people a visible majority was female, yet, disappointingly but not surprisingly more speakers were male, which did not change the fact that mostly this conference created a safe space for us. In fact, when I was looking at the speakers who had been confirmed before I myself submitted an abstract, I thought I would not be invited to speak as there were already a hand full of feminist speakers. To my surprise, Heiko the organiser sent me a very encouraging email, inviting me to speak, even mentioning that they don't have many speakers addressing feminist issues. I thought to myself: 'Five explicitly feminist speeches is seen as not many? This must be an amazing place!' And indeed it turned out to be the wonderful gathering of ideas I was hoping for. The primary purpose for all of us to attend were the animals. This was felt throughout every talk and every interaction. The feeling of solidarity and the willingness to listen and learn that everybody approached each other with was overwhelming.

I haven't felt so safe outside my own home for a very long time. Everybody was so accepting and respectful. Nothing mattered except for freedom and liberty. IARC is a place in which especially as a woman I felt safe. Speaking to an amazing activist who we met on the second day, Ana, psychologist, athlete and director of Vegan Power 50 K, I realised I was not the only one feeling this way. In our conversation we both realised that this was a place where we were not objectified (or objectified less?). We weren’t put under the (same amount of) pressure that we felt outside of this conference to apply make-up, wear gendered clothing or shave. Shit! The conference was so freeing, that when back home, I felt my bra restricting me to the point I couldn't breathe properly (which was a result of my psycho-somatic sensitivities and the fact that back in reality I felt overwhelmed with social pressures). Of course I have overheard some sexism and cheap pick up lines at the conference, but nobody is perfect, and these four days were pretty damn close to perfect (for myself anyway). Not only because of the minimised gendered interactions, but also because of the minimised speciesism and capitalism. It makes a huge difference to run an event on a non-profit basis. It gave rise to solidarity and respect, which, unlike at other conferences, was not based on someone's attire (usually men in suits get the most respect at conferences) or the amount of papers they have published, but solely on the fact that everybody tried the best in their capacities to help each other out.

I must admit though, as wonderful and safe I felt at the conference, I also was accompanied by the feeling that my voice would be less important or less interesting to the attendees. I wasn't sure what that stemmed from, perhaps because I addressed systemic change from a more abstract perspective, rather than direct action and ALF tactics in my speech. It didn't become clear to me until I spent some time with Alissa, a vegan feminist activist and host of Animal Voices Vancouver. (Animal voices aired a report on IARC 2014, which conveys well what kind of inclusive space this conference is.) Alissa invited everyone for a feminist discussion group, an informal circle that would create a place of exchange between the female participants of the conference. Men were invited, too, and thanks to Lisa Kemmerer (who I wrote about in yesterday's post), the problematic of masculinity became obvious to me in one instant that night. All she did was call out, very peacefully, a silencing of the female voice by a male. It was a profound and overwhelming moment, whose energy stayed with me until today.

I am grateful to all the strong women (and men) who I met at the conference and who have inspired me and given me the confidence to stand up for what I believe to be right.

The most beautiful cake
in celebration of  the opening night.

We also both want to express our gratitude for the tireless efforts of the organisational team. They have managed to create an atmosphere of trust and solidarity you (surprisingly) rarely experience in activist circles. We are both absolutely grateful to all volunteers who fed us, cleaned up after us and gave us the possibility to solely focus on the animals for four whole days. Thank you for everything and see you next year!

All recorded talks will be available on Youtube on Vegan Kanal.