Disclaimer

The insights, interpretations, and reflections expressed in this article are entirely my own and do not necessarily represent the views of the AVA Summit organisers, speakers, or affiliated organisations. Any errors of fact, analysis, or judgment are solely my responsibility. This post is written in good faith to contribute to the growing dialogue on effective animal advocacy in Africa and should be read as a personal reflection rather than an authoritative account of the event.

Abstract

Between July 17th and July 20th, 2025, I attended the Animal and Vegan Advocacy (AVA) Summit Kenya 2025, a landmark convening that brought together advocates, researchers, entrepreneurs, and policymakers from across Africa and the global animal welfare movement.

The experience deepened my understanding of how Effective Altruism (EA) principles,  particularly importance, neglectedness, and tractability, can guide strategic animal welfare interventions within African contexts.

This post offers a detailed reflection on the summit’s key discussions, emerging lessons, and broader implications for animal advocacy in Africa, especially at the intersection of policy, technology, and indigenous wisdom.

1. Introduction

The AVA Summit Kenya 2025 marked a pivotal moment for Africa’s growing animal advocacy community. For many years, animal welfare efforts on the continent have operated under conditions of limited resources, fragmented coordination, and external dependence. However, the summit showcased a new chapter, one defined by local leadership, evidence-based advocacy, and increasing alignment with Effective Altruism.

Hosted in Nairobi, the summit convened hundreds of professionals across diverse fields: veterinarians, legal experts, AI researchers, environmentalists, and NGO leaders. It was a vivid demonstration that animal welfare is no longer an isolated or imported cause; it is becoming a homegrown movement integrated into Africa’s development narrative.

As an advocate and veterinarian, attending this summit reshaped my understanding of what effective advocacy means in practice. It reaffirmed that the principles of EA, doing the most good, with limited resources, for the greatest number of sentient beings, are both urgently needed and naturally adaptable to African realities.

2. Engaging Sessions and Transformative Discussions

The summit was organised into plenary sessions, thematic workshops, and small group breakouts. While plenaries offered macro-level perspectives, the smaller rooms proved more transformative, spaces where strategy met introspection, and theory translated into actionable insight.

Below are the sessions and discussions that most shaped my experience and subsequent thinking.

2.1 Designing a Theory of Change (Moritz’s Session)

One of the most valuable sessions I attended was led by Moritz, focused on Designing a Theory of Change (ToC). His approach emphasized that a ToC is not a static plan but a logical map of how our inputs connect to impact ,  a living framework that evolves with evidence and learning.

Through this session, I began developing a preliminary ToC for InterveneAI, an AI-driven platform I am currently prototyping. The platform seeks to analyze and prioritize animal welfare interventions based on contextual data, historical outcomes, and socio-economic feasibility ,  essentially applying EA’s tractability and cost-effectiveness lenses to local contexts.

Moritz’s framework helped me anchor InterveneAI around three guiding assumptions:

1. Evidence matters, but evidence must be localized to context.
2. Impact pathways must remain adaptive, not linear.
3. Collaboration accelerates scale, while isolation breeds redundancy.

I left this session convinced that developing context-sensitive Theories of Change could help African advocates avoid duplication and focus on interventions that have measurable, scalable, and sustainable impact.

2.2 Entrepreneurship for Impact: A rough guide (Brett Thompson’s Session)

Brett Thompson’s talk, Entrepreneurship for Impact, was a masterclass in pragmatic altruism. He distilled years of experience into one resonant call: “Start now. Talk to people. Collaborate. Leverage the power of a Word document.”

Behind this humility lay profound insight, that progress is iterative, not perfect. Many advocates spend years planning without launching. Brett’s advice to “build while learning” echoed EA’s bias toward actionable experimentation.

This mindset, favouring “minimum viable impact” over perfectionism, is one I now carry into all my projects.

2.3 Animal Law Meet-Up: Bridging Professional Divides

The Animal Law Meet-Up proved both enlightening and sobering. Lawyers, veterinarians, and advocates debated the role of legislation in promoting welfare and regulating industrial farming.

A central theme emerged: there exists a structural divide between veterinarians (who understand animals biologically) and lawyers (who interpret animals legally). Yet, both are indispensable in shaping effective advocacy ecosystems.

Speakers underscored that law shapes compassion at the societal level , transforming empathy into enforceable norms. However, in Africa, collaboration between legal and veterinary professionals remains rare. This divide extends to environmental lawyers and policymakers.

The discussion revealed an urgent need for interdisciplinary synergy. For instance, while veterinarians may understand animal pain and sentience, lawyers possess the instruments to enshrine such understanding into enforceable protections.

A particularly striking comment came from one participant:

“Pets are the best ambassadors for compassion; they already occupy the emotional space between humans and animals. They can be a bridge for changing minds.”

This insight aligns with EA’s incrementalist view: moral circle expansion often begins with the most relatable beings.

2.4 Plugging Critical Research Gaps in Africa (Bjorn Olafsson’s Session)

Bjoorn Olafsson’s session highlighted how research underpins effective advocacy. His argument was simple: without data, we cannot measure suffering, and without measurement, we cannot prioritise interventions effectively.

He demonstrated practical research designs that are affordable, accessible, and yet powerful enough to influence policy. 

 Africa is not data-poor; it is data-fragmented. Institutions such as AU-IBAR (African Union – Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources) have amassed extensive datasets on animal health, trade, and welfare. Yet, these remain siloed, rarely reaching advocates or the public domain.

This session strengthened my conviction that AI can serve as a bridge synthesizing disparate data into actionable insights. By integrating datasets from AU-IBAR, NGOs, and field reports, we can move from intuition-based advocacy to evidence-based prioritization.

2.5 Farmed Animal Advocacy Through Policy (Jenna Hiscock’s Session)

Jenna Hiscock’s session on Farmed Animal Advocacy Through Policy underscored the importance of systemic change. It was argued that policy engagement yields multiplicative benefits over time.

Her session showed that farmed animal advocacy in Africa has evolved dramatically, transitioning from an almost neglected cause to one with growing policy momentum. Organisations such as the Animal Advocacy Africa (AAA), Sustainable Synergies, SHARED and Thrive Philanthropy have spearheaded new frameworks for Animal welfare policy, Research, Awareness and community change.

This reinforced an EA insight: while factory farming in Africa remains less entrenched than in industrialised nations, the continent sits at a crucial inflexion point. Early intervention now could prevent widespread institutionalisation of suffering later.

2.6 Transcending Borders Through Afro-Indegenomics (Monique Tamara van Vuuren’s Session)

In perhaps the most emotionally stirring session, Monique Tamara van Vuuru explored Afro-Indegenomics, a philosophy emphasizing Africa’s indigenous relationship with nature and animals.

Her session transcended conventional advocacy, urging participants to reclaim Africa’s moral ecology. Historically, many African societies practiced forms of ethical coexistence — pastoralism, communal grazing, and respectful slaughter — rooted in balance rather than exploitation.

Her key message, “deep dive, deconstruct, and re-imagine hoatsama (Collective ) compassion without borders." We are not importing compassion; we are rediscovering it, profoundly reframing the narrative.

To me, this was liberating: it reframed animal welfare not as a Western moral export, but as a return to indigenous harmony, aligning cultural identity with compassion and sustainability.

3. Conversations on Artificial Intelligence and Animal Advocacy

Outside formal sessions, I engaged in deep, forward-looking conversations with Stein van der Ploeg and Kevin Xia about artificial intelligence and a cause-prioritisation. 

The discussion centred on the role of AI in scaling animal welfare interventions. Stein cautioned that “AI builds on itself — once left behind, it’s done.” This sentiment captures the accelerating pace of technological change and the moral imperative to ensure Africa is not left behind in AI-driven advocacy.

We explored several use cases:

• Predicting animal welfare crises before they escalate.
• Modelling intervention cost-effectiveness using historical data.
• Identifying underfunded but tractable welfare initiatives.
• Opportunities in the animal welfare and AI space

The central challenge lies in ethical development. AI must not replicate global inequities or centralise knowledge in Western institutions. Instead, it should democratize insight, empowering advocates across Africa to make evidence-based decisions that reflect their local realities.

4. Key Lessons Learned

The AVA Summit provided a mosaic of insights that collectively reshaped my understanding of advocacy, leadership, and impact.

4.1 Collaboration Over Isolation

Many African advocates operate in silos, often unintentionally. While their missions align, their lack of coordination results in redundant projects and fragmented impact. The summit illuminated that collaboration multiplies effectiveness.

This is where EA’s coordination principle intersects powerfully: the marginal impact of each actor increases when aligned within a shared ecosystem. Africa’s movement needs coalitions, not competitors.

4.2 Shifting Narratives: From Veganism to Plant-Based Tradition

One recurring theme was linguistic adaptation. The term “veganism”, while ethically robust can be alienating in African cultural contexts. Historically, African diets were predominantly plant-based, built around legumes, grains, and vegetables. The shift , industrial meat is recent and largely market-driven.

Reframing the conversation around “returning to plant-based traditions” rather than “adopting veganism” resonates more authentically. This is a lesson in cultural tractability; advocacy succeeds when it speaks the language of people's lived values.

4.3 Data Exists, Integration Is the Challenge

Before attending the summit, I assumed the biggest barrier to evidence-based advocacy was the absence of reliable data. I left with a different perspective: the issue is disorganisation, not deficiency.

African institutions hold extensive data, on animal welfare policies, livestock production, disease control, and even animal welfare indicators. What’s lacking is integration, accessibility, and translation into decision-making tools.

4.4 Modernisation and the Rise of Factory Farming

Another sobering realisation was how modernization threatens traditional welfare systems. As Africa’s middle class expands, so does demand for animal protein, often fulfilled through intensive farming systems imported from the Global North.

This mirrors patterns seen decades earlier in Europe and Asia. The critical difference is timing: Africa has the opportunity to act before factory farming becomes dominant.

From an EA standpoint, this represents a high-neglectedness, high-importance, high-tractability cause area. Early interventions in public awareness, policy, and industry standards could prevent millions of animals from lifelong suffering.

5. Implications for Effective Altruism and Animal Advocacy

5.1 Applying the INT Framework

From an EA analytical lens, Africa’s animal welfare landscape can be evaluated through Importance, Neglectedness, and Tractability (INT):

• Importance: The moral scale of animal suffering in Africa, spanning farmed, companion, and wild animals, is vast. The continent’s trajectory toward industrial agriculture amplifies both the stakes and urgency.
• Neglectedness: Historically underfunded and overlooked, the field is now gaining traction. Yet, certain niches (e.g., AI ethics, companion animals, especially free-roaming dogs and cats, and indigenous advocacy models) remain severely neglected.
• Tractability: Early-stage systems, flexible policies, and a receptive public make interventions unusually tractable. Small investments can yield large social and policy returns.

5.2 Strategic Priorities Emerging from the Summit

Based on discussions, three strategic directions stand out for EA-aligned advocates in Africa:

1. Institutional Collaboration – Build structured alliances across sectors (veterinary, legal, environmental) and NGOs to leverage shared infrastructure.
2. Contextual Research Translation – Support the synthesis and dissemination of African animal welfare data into open-access, decision-useful formats.
3. Preventive Advocacy Against Factory Farming – Intervene early through consumer education, sustainable agriculture models, and policy advocacy.

5.3 Deep Ethical Questions Raised

The summit also surfaced profound questions that merit deeper philosophical and empirical exploration:

• Is promoting veganism meaningful in societies that already consume minimal animal products?
• What happens to animals bred for food if consumption declines rapidly?
• How should advocates balance cultural relativism with universal welfare principles?

6. Personal Reflection: Why it took me so long to write about the July AVA summit, Kenya. 

In the weeks following the summit, I found myself unusually introspective. I did not post about the experience immediately because I needed to process it, intellectually, emotionally, and professionally.

The AVA Summit did not simply expand my knowledge; it transformed my perspective on what it means to be effective. It forced me to examine my personal Theory of Change, my allocation of time, and even my moral priorities.

I revisited the EA literature, re-evaluated my work, and began mapping where my work could deliver the highest marginal impact. This internal recalibration, though slow, was essential. The summit was not just a learning experience; it was a moral realignment.

7. Conclusion

The AVA Summit Kenya 2025 reaffirmed a truth I have long sensed: that Africa’s animal welfare future must be shaped by Africans themselves, guided by both scientific evidence and cultural resonance.

It also underscored how Effective Altruism provides a practical compass, a disciplined approach to compassion that aligns resources, reason, and empathy.

In the years ahead, I envision three imperatives for the African animal welfare movement:

1. Build systems, not silos.
2. Localise evidence, globalise compassion.
3. Use technology as a force for moral acceleration.

Ultimately, as we blend indigenous wisdom with modern advocacy, I am reminded of Monique’s words:

“We are not importing compassion; we are rediscovering it.”

If we can root our movement in this rediscovery ,  scientifically rigorous, culturally grounded, and globally networked, Africa will not just participate in the animal welfare revolution; it will lead it.

Acknowledgements

Gratitude to AVA Summit Kenya 2025, Moritz, Brett Thompson, Bjoorn Olafsson, Jenna Hiscock, Monique Tamara van Vuuru, Stien van der Ploeg, Kevin Xi and all the other attendees ,  for their insights and inspiration during the summit.