In a bid to strengthen the animal protection movement in India, a number of grassroots activists, industry experts, philanthropists, influencers, and animal protection organisations across the country are all set to come together.

Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO), an animal protection body, has announced the fourth edition of India for Animals (IFA) 2022, a first-of-its-kind virtual conference to be held online on 29-30 January 2022 to discuss the animal welfare issues in India.

The conference is being presented in association with Dogs Trust Worldwide. IFA 2022 is an extension of FIAPO, and a gateway to the intersection of animals, humans, and environmental rights, with the end goal of liberation.

A recent report spanning over a decade released by FIAPO and ACGS (2010-2020), revealed 720 cases of crime against street animals, 741 cases against working animals, 588 cases against companion animals, 88 cases against farm animals, and 258 cases against wild animals and birds in India.

Talking about the same, FIAPO’s chair Norma Alvares said, “India for Animals is another step towards making this world a more just place for animals and recognising their importance in society. IFA is our effort to provide a much-needed platform to the community working towards the cause in India.”

The conference will provide keynote speeches, workshops, panel discussions, and live Q&A sessions where the audience, including animal protection activists, nonprofits, and students, will be able to join in from any part of the world and engage online.

Some prominent leaders who will participate include people from the animal protection movement including Padma Shri Norma Alvares – Bombay High Court Advocate & FIAPO’s Chairperson, Dr. Chinny Krishna – founder of Blue Cross of India, Shankar Narayan – Founder of Satvik Vegan Society, Dr. Manilal Valliyate, CEO of PETA India, Gauri Maulekhi – Trustee, People for Animals, Alokparna Sengupta – Managing Director, Humane Society International India, among others.

IFA 2022 will host sessions on various issues like, Helping Shelters with self-sustenance and community engagement, Relearning compassion through education, Reforming the Standards of Animal Welfare for Farm Animals, Marine Life, and Wildlife, Transforming activism through digital advocacy, Human, Animal, Environment: One health intersections, Forming alliances with Government Authorities, vegan advocacy, intersectionality between human rights and animal rights and many more!

One of the direct goals of FIAPO – through this event – is to strengthen the animal protection movement.

“Many nonprofits that serve animals struggle with basic issues. How do they raise resources to sustain and expand their work? How do they use communication and technology to be accountable to donors – and also gain support from a wider public? How do they make sure – with the shortage of staffing they face – that all compliances are in place? IFA provides a platform so that such small organisations can get the help they need, if not at the conference, then, through the connections they make at the conference,” said Bharati Ramachandran, CEO of FIAPO. 

The conference is absolutely free for all participants and opens for registration at  https://ifa2022conference.eventuresindia.com/.