Breaking the Ice (BTI) started with a simple question: What if a group of people could discover mutual ground by relating to each other through their differences? How would members of such a team act with one another when they had agreed on a joint goal? The first peace journey to Antarctica was a massive success in terms of media awareness, recognition by peers and a 90-minutes documentary. The journey of an olive tree in 2006 turned out to be an even bigger adventure in terms of logistics and management.
Pro bono work continued, with involvement by a number of creatives and students, companies and helping hands by other civil society organizations (CSO). Taking stock as of today, the organizational progression of BTI is from "concerned citizens" (Israelis reaching out to Palestinians) over a portrayal of the "clash of civilizations" - and that there is none on the personal level - to the currently evolving "peace economy": the virtuous circle between sustainable economical development and peace.
We focus on content and how it can be represented impactful in media. It is only when storytelling is preceded by "storylistening" that it truly engages viewers and lowers the threshold for participation, engagement, action. With triggering such action, the storytelling of BTI today is "solution journalism" rather than simply "good news" - although of course that's what our work will hopefully be, too.
In operational terms, a number of local activities in Mozambique are our starting point for engagement in Africa. With the Teran Foundation, we have found the perfect partner to seed us and our projects. Teran Foundation works in and around Mossuril/Mozambique Island since 2004, delivering community development projects from the ground-up.