Through IFAWF, I met fellows and teachers with similar aspirations and gained the strength and drive to persist in improving animal welfare. The 14 online sessions lasting almost four months were full of surprises and joy!

I acquired knowledge, gained teammates to advance our work together, and felt improved confidence and strength. “Improving life” is a wonderful and meaningful life!

Through participating in IFAWF, I felt an incredible feeling of ‘not learning enough, wanting to learn more!’ Gathering for animals, every learner here is also a sharer, and every listener is also a witness. I am often thinking and pondering, and I rejoice in my heart with even tiny steps forward. Sincere yet open-minded, rational yet passionate, we start from little things, from what is near. As I gently stroke the pig’s nose and enjoy her joyous snorts, I feel honored to receive her highest praise.

I am glad to meet friends from different fields with a shared passion, to see hope and the rapid development of farm animal welfare in China.

I feel lucky to join IFAWF, through this program, I was able to

1. Connect with talented fellows from various fields, to better understand and improve myself
2. Learn and gain a deeper understanding of animal welfare
3. Realize that having good company is just as important as choosing the right path

As a legal scholar, I was inspired after closely connecting with those who work within the animal agriculture industry.

My biggest feeling after joining IFAWF was a sense of community, I met so many friends who share the same interest. Through IFAWF, I recognized that animal welfare is interdisciplinary, and learnt different knowledge from other fellows, which enriched my understanding of animal welfare. I hope we will have further discussions, connections, collaborations, in order to work hard together to improve animal welfare, and give voice to the animals.

Thanks to IFAWF, I connected with friends with similar aspirations. There is still a long way to go to improve farm animal welfare, which requires friends from many fields to work hard and forge ahead together.

I am very thankful to IFAWF for expanding my views on animal welfare research, and for connecting me with so many friends who are striving to improve animal welfare. Before, it was a luxury to discuss animal welfare issues with other people, but this became so easy after joining the fellowship. I even worked with fellows to complete a paper together, which feels really joyous!

Do right things and do things right, every friend who cares about animal welfare is a leader in this gentle revolution.

I gained a lot and felt touched and excited.

I feel very lucky to join the 2022 cohort of IFAWF fellowship, to have the chance to learn and discuss farm animal welfare issues with experts from different disciplines. The fellows from IFAWF will form a strong community, and through continued collaborations and dialogue, will promote and advance farm animal welfare in China.

I gained a lot from participating in IFAWF, and have many reflections.

Firstly, in the three months and 14 sessions of learning and dialogue, I felt a new sense of understanding as to the value of my career. I gained a holistic understanding of animal welfare knowledge. I also have broadened views and new thoughts on the development of farm animal welfare in China, of actual issues within animal agriculture in general, as well as in my work.

Secondly, after learning about farm animal welfare, I adjusted my career positioning within the food manufacturing, broiler slaughter and processing industry. I shifted from focusing on how to process food better, to how to create better food which is beneficial for health. I shifted my values regarding animal welfare. Caring for animal welfare is another way of caring for humans.

Through this learning experience, I was lucky to meet so many experts, scholars, professionals, colleagues, and connect with invaluable resources.

I am very thankful to IFAWF, for introducing new opportunities and rekindling confidence to welcome the new challenges in my work and life.

I applied to participate in IFAWF at a stage where I felt a bit lost prior to graduation. My job search was not very successful, my grades were not very ideal, so acceptance into the fellowship was a very happy event during that time. Joining this fellowship was surprising, I met lots of friends who share similar aspirations, everyone was talented with a shared passion for learning, I gained a lot of knowledge!

I feel honored to participate in the IFAWF fellowship. The program is rich in content, diverse in format, and high in engagement. I felt it broadened my thinking, I benefited a lot from gaining knowledge. Through this program, I met many friends with similar interests and felt more confident about future developments, and it strengthened my belief that farm animal welfare will continually improve in China.

Through systematic learning in the fellowship, I gained a more holistic understanding of high animal welfare husbandry, and a deeper understanding of sustainable development and the close connection between animal and human health. I feel deeply honored and grateful to connect with so many talented teachers and fellows working in the animal welfare field. I hope that in my future work, we can further collaborate and implement high animal welfare in layer husbandry, and explore husbandry practices which are suitable for a Chinese context. I hope to use my actions to make a contribution to farm animal welfare in China!

I gained more awareness about animal welfare, learned professional knowledge, and connected with industry professionals.

1. Joined the platform and connected with leaders in the animal welfare field
2. Learnt about the development of animal welfare in a global context and in contemporary China
3. Learnt various animal welfare legislation and policies
4. Learnt about the development of the alternative protein industry

I feel very lucky to participate in the IFAWF fellowship this summer, to be able to connect with a group of friends who share the same passion for farm animal welfare! Through the weekly learning, discussions, and idea exchange with everyone, I learnt the diversity and complexity of farm animal welfare issues in China. This has encouraged me to learn more and work harder in this direction!

IFAWF strengthened my confidence in embarking on the difficult yet meaningful path of animal welfare. This is a reassuring place, full of people with care and love. It is inspiring to see individuals from various fields working together to speak for animals, also to speak for the planet.

IFAWF helped me immensely to embrace the complexity of farm animal welfare in China, to network with the most brilliant minds, and to envision a hopeful career to improve the lives of farm animals. I have since initiated a collaborative research project on improving laying hen welfare In China!

I was very excited to know new fellows and resonated with people from different career backgrounds in animal welfare.

The fellowship helped me feel I am not alone in dealing with animal welfare issues in China. It’s a safe place to talk about animal welfare issues that concern us, talk about struggles in life, and a great place to meet like-minded people. I also like that we have such a diverse group of people coming from different perspectives about animal welfare in China, and we can share our own perspectives in a respectful way. It’s a great place to connect, learn and grow.

It was really nice to meet those lovely people from different fields in IFAWF. I found it is very enjoyable to share research experience and learn from each other during the fellowship, although it was completely conducted online. The improvement of animal welfare is not easy, it would need efforts from both animal and human perspectives. I am so thankful to all of you made this journey so interesting and informative.

The biggest gain is to meet a group of like-minded friends, find a common voice in a relatively marginal discipline and gain support from the group. Thanks to the diversity of the IFAWF program, it can help get to know professionals in different fields and get corresponding communication and support in related fields.

I knew since high school that I wanted to work in Chinese farm animal welfare, but it wasn't until participating in the IFAWF that I finally crystalized how. Without question, the program has been such a gift: meeting other like-minded young people from around the world; learning from guest speakers at the cutting edge of their fields; benefitting from a robust support system whose primary goal is to help us help animals. I'm so thankful for this community, and for the organizers who make it possible.

Firstly, I would like to thank the organizers for inviting me to be a member of the fellowship, I’ve really learned a lot from every online meeting and met a lot of the renowned authors who I previously read about in academic articles. I really appreciate all the speakers for giving me the strength and confidence to carry on. Last, I want to express my gratitude for the organizers and other fellows’ help, since I nearly give up the research without seeing their persistence and efforts on animal welfare.

Taking part in the IFAWF made me realise the diversity of stakeholders invested in farm animal welfare in China. This has given me a greater appreciation for the intersections between my own research in alternative proteins, and other industries. I feel buoyed by the passion, determination and sharp strategic approach my peers are taking to an issue that has wide-scale impact, and look forward to remaining in touch with them and their journey in this space.