Through regranting and support, AGORA enables leadership retreats that strengthen coordination, capacity, and shared strategy in national animal advocacy movements.
Too much of the animal advocacy work happens in isolation. Passionate people and organizations doing important work, but rarely in concert. AGORA helps to change that.
In 2026, AGORA aims to support up to 10 countries set up their national leadership retreat: spaces where advocates can connect, foster trust, and increase their collective impact.
Spain · Successful inaugural retreat bringing together key leaders from across the national movement.
Vietnam, Malaysia, Brazil & Germany · Supported and in preparation, to be held before the end of 2026.
India · Organizer engaged and retreat planning underway.
We support activists with up to 10,000 USD in funding to organize convenings over multiple days, where leadership can connect, amplify shared goals, and help their local movement grow.
In many countries, key actors and leaders across different animal advocacy groups do not always know each other well or have not built sufficient trust, which limits collaboration and getting to a shared strategy. In particular, there is often a disconnect or difference of opinion between established NGOs and grassroots organizations.
To address this, AGORA is initially looking to support and fund national convenings for key actors ("leadership retreats") in strategically important countries for the farmed animal movement, where few similar events are happening. These gatherings bring together 10–20 influential advocates within a country for 2–3 day retreats focused on networking, trust-building, identifying high-impact local opportunities, fostering collaboration, and working on a shared strategic vision.
In 2026 we have supported retreats in Spain, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brazil, and Germany, with India currently underway. We are not currently accepting new applications, but hope to open a further round to support up to 4 more countries before the end of the year.
We work with stakeholders to determine what countries would benefit most from a leadership retreat and open applications to those specific countries.
We analyze and select the strongest applications for potential impact. With generous support from funders, we provide funds to selected local organizers.
We provide support to selected organizers in determining the program for their retreat, and impact evaluation after the event (MEL).
There are several ways to contribute to the AGORA mission, from organizing and funding to connecting us with movement builders in your country.
Applications are currently closed. We have supported retreats in Spain, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brazil, and Germany in 2026, with India underway. We hope to open a further round to support up to 4 more countries before the end of the year. Stay tuned or reach out to express your interest.
We will ask you to provide details about yourself, your movement's needs, and your plan for the retreat. You'll also need to prepare a draft of your budget.
We believe all movements, whether they are nascent, developed, or very mature, can benefit from places where decision makers can safely connect and collaborate.
If you believe you know potential organizers or movement builders, we're happy to be put in touch. Bridge builders and movement brokers are crucial to improve how these events are put together.
We are looking forward to improving our approach and MEL practices constantly. If you want to contribute, please reach out.
Tell us who you are and what you're working on. We'd love to hear from you.
tim@agora.oooEvery retreat is evaluated immediately after and at the six-month mark, capturing both the immediate shifts in trust and connection, and the lasting changes in collaboration and strategy. Across both stages, we focus on three main pillars: cohesion, increased capacity, and shared strategic vision.
A structured evaluation covering connection quality, trust shifts, session effectiveness, perceived collaboration opportunities, and individual commitments for the next 30, 60, and 90 days.
We track whether commitments became action: which coalitions formed, what collaborations launched, and how the retreat shaped the national movement. Findings are compiled into a per-country impact report, shared with funders and movement builders.
The inaugural Spain Leadership Retreat (17–19 April 2026) brought together 19 key actors from across the farmed-animal movement and demonstrated the concrete impact a well-designed, trust-centered convening can have.
Full retreat report available upon request: tim@agora.ooo
The movement grows stronger when we work together. Shared wins matter more than who gets the credit.
Animal advocates come from everywhere. We actively work to make sure all voices are genuinely heard, not just the loudest ones. Leadership Retreats should reflect the diversity of Theories of Change within a movement.
We care about what actually works. That means being honest about what the evidence says, even when it's uncomfortable.
Real change takes time. We'd rather build something durable than chase quick wins that don't hold.
We operate openly and share what we learn. Trust is built over time, and we take that seriously.
We're not here to tinker at the edges. A fundamentally different relationship between humans and animals is possible, and that's what we're working towards.
AGORA is made possible by funders who believe that strong, connected movements create lasting change for animals.
Interested in funding more retreats? Get in touch →
Founder
Tim has been involved in animal advocacy for over two decades, and is working at the intersection of animal advocacy, movement building, and organizational effectiveness. Convinced that coordination and trust among advocates is one of the most underleveraged drivers of impact, he founded AGORA to create the infrastructure for national movements to genuinely connect. Currently, he is also Development Strategist at V-Label International, co-founder of IMAE, and Project Manager for AVAx with AVA International. He is based in Spain.