​Dr Olga Kikou will offer a policy- and advocacy-focused briefing on the evolving plant-based landscape in the European Union: the most significant recent shifts across EU institutions and Member States, the dynamics behind emerging backlash, and the practical advocacy levers that can help secure durable progress.

Over a 1-hour lecture, she will map key developments shaping EU and Member State approaches to plant-based food and outline priority opportunities for advocates and policymakers in the coming years. Drawing on current campaigning and coalition-building experience, she will also discuss strategic priorities for the next phase of the EU food systems transition, including her work on the European Citizens’ Initiative Food is a Human Right for All!

The lecture will be followed by a 30-minute Q&A with the audience. It will be recorded and later uploaded to ICARE's YouTube channel.

About the speaker:
Olga Kikou is the Founder and Director of Animal Advocacy & Food Transition, a non-profit organisation with a mission to improve the welfare of farmed animals and to accelerate the shift towards more plant-based food systems to benefit our health, the animals and the planet. 

Olga received her PhD from the University of Massachusetts and worked in international organisations in the non-profit sector and in research and planning. With decades of experience in civil society advocacy, she has a wide range of interests and expertise, ranging from advancing animal-related causes to building support for social justice and green issues, strengthening citizen participation and reinforcing social reform. 

Olga has a proven track record of effective engagement with EU policymakers and has built a strong network across EU institutions and civil society. She serves as substitute representative of the Citizens’ Committee for the End The Cage Age European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) and was instrumental in its success as the lead lobbyist engaging with the EU Institutions, helping to secure the historic commitment to phase out the use of cages in EU animal farming. She also acts as the representative for a new ECI Food is a Human Right for All: Guaranteeing healthy, just and sustainable food systems and continues to drive EU-level work in these critical areas.

We look forward to welcoming you to this online live & free lecture.

On World Laboratory Animals Day, we explored the future of research without animals from legal, scientific, and advocacy perspectives.

Organised in collaboration with Medicine Without Cruelty (MWC), this event brought together legal scholars, scientists, and NGO representatives to examine the urgent need to transition toward non-animal research methods.

We were honoured to welcome the following lecturers:

​- Rebecca Critser (Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health / Lewis & Clark Law School) – Legal aspects of ending animal research
- Savita Nutan (Medicine Without Cruelty) – Scientific advances and alternatives to animal testing

​With contributions from NGO representatives advocating for a cruelty-free future:

​- Isobel Martin – Animal Free Research UK
- ​Daniela Medina – Te Protejo
- Dr. Anjana Aggarwal – PETA India

​Together, they delved into current practices, discussed ethical and legal implications, and highlighted innovative alternatives that can help move us toward a future without animal experimentation and cruelty.

This engaging session offered valuable insights for researchers, scientists, legal professionals, policymakers, animal rights and welfare advocates, students, and anyone interested in the intersection of law, science, and ethics. We examined the latest developments in legislation, scientific breakthroughs, and advocacy efforts to end the use of animals in research.

​Don't miss this opportunity to learn about creating a more compassionate and scientifically advanced world.

We also shared takeaways from the seminar here.

This thought-provoking lecture by Dr Paulina Siemieniec explored the recent political turn in animal ethics and its implications for the field of animal rights law.

​This one-hour lecture examined how political theory offers new tools for rethinking the place of animals in law and governance. Dr Siemieniec traced the emergence of animal politics, highlighting how it diverges from traditional moral debates about animal rights—and why this distinction matters.

The lecture then delved into key questions shaping the field, including whether and how animals can be understood as political agents.

​From democratic theory to legal personhood, this lecture invites reflection on how political frameworks can reshape our understanding of animals as subjects of justice and participants in political life.

The recording will be available shortly.