Women on the Run - Portraits for Peace

Hello, this is me: Sandy Bossier-Steuerwald - full-blooded journalist, full-time mother of three & fully committed to peace!

Get my Point: With the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022, I founded "Women on the Run." The blog project creates a collage of women from Ukraine with an intimate perspective on a war often conveyed in the media from a male-dominated point of view. So far, the blog has given 23 women a voice and has reached thousands of readers in 62 countries worldwide.

Understand my Mission: After Corona and the climate crisis, many of us are tired and weary of negative news. On top, society is afraid of a wave of refugees, but they must learn to deal with migration in the future. I believe, we need close, experiential news to understand crises and war. We need positive, powerful stories that give courage, otherwise common news and media will eventually be refused. There is an urgent need to promote togetherness, empathy and understanding within a society. To push the boundaries of digital storytelling about migration, "Women on the Run" uses individual experiences to tell of personal dealings with war. First-hand, from a female perspective. Through individual stories, war becomes approachable and understandable. The public can learn to understand refugees, their concerns and fears - ultimately, mutual understanding and empathy can promote democracy through refugee stories.

Share my Vision: After ten months of voluntary work in 2022, I am now collecting donations to be able to continue the project in the coming year - non-profit but cost-covering. As the war in Ukraine continues but fades into the background of public discourse, it is even more important to continue writing portraits for peace in 2023. I`d like to take the stories to the next level: As I maintain personal, close contact with the women, I plan follow up interviews with the ones already portrayed as well as recruit new interviewees. In addition, I`d like to push boundaries of digital storytelling with new cross-media & cross-border formats - e.g. podcasts, comic stories, print publications, plays or photo exhibitions.

Donate for Good: I will use the donations for all professional journalistic activities around the work of the project, both in the creative areas of authorship, photography, press work, marketing and social media, as well as in the network maintenance, expansion of new partnerships and the desirable implementation of planned "analog" formats such as a planned photo exhibition (there is already a promise of the Refugio Berlin as an exhibition venue). My goal for this campaign also includes publishing at least one portrait/month - so a minimum of twelve portraits in 2023.

Milestones of 2022: Since launched, the blog project has…

-remained independent without any income

-reached readers in 62 countries worldwide

-portrayed 23 Women from Ukraine

-had almost 10.000 page impressions

-786 follower on instagram

-realized a LinkedIn campaign with 14 Influencers on World Refugee Day `22

Thank you,

Stay curious. Be creative. Get connected. Make peace.

Sandy Bossier-Steuerwald

Freelance Journalist

Founder & Author Women on the Run/ Frauen auf der Flucht

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YouTube/Frauen auf der Flucht