Ammar Shayeb, Charge d’ Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of the State of Palestine in Warsaw came to speak and inspire the Artists and Ambassadors of Breaking Walls.

“First of all, It’d like to thank you for the kind invitation and provide me an opportunity to be here with you.  What do you think is the most important thing in life?  You can do anything but an important thing to remember is: it’s your life and you only live once.

As you grow older, you start to get a sense of who you are and your purpose in life.  You know what you stand for and the value you try to live your life by.  You know who can be your friend. You get the liberty of sticking to your choices no matter what other people thank.

You have something very special, which is yourself.  Your art and your vision for the world, so keep on creating it, as you only live once.

As your Polish adventure begins, let the time spent in Warsaw be worth remembering.

As great Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish said Palestinian people, we are in love with life as we can’.  That’s what I would like to conclude my message with:be in love with life, as you can.

Breaking Walls, a not-for-profit, international creative writing, performance and peacebuilding initiative, ignites global dialogue between the leaders of tomorrow by creating artistic, educational and community-building opportunities for youth to become those empathetic, system changing leaders.

To ensure that Breaking Walls creates a sustainable collaboration, we offer three levels of involvement for youth participants: artists write and perform their original work for a live audience; ambassadors who are former artists now youth facilitators mentoring the artists through the writing and performance process; and, associates who are participants from past Breaking Walls initiatives who have become prominent leaders in their home communities. Each young man and woman returns to their home community after our twelve-day, intensive writing, performing, ensemble building experience having explored their imagination; and, embraced their creativity as the catalyst for compassion, collaboration, accountability, and commitment – ready to nurture a world where we can all trust one another.

Nuria who’s from Barcelona, Spain is excited and looking forward to her new role as Ambassador.  The role comes with new responsibilities but she is up for the challenge.  She’s always looks forward to meeting new people.

Dr. Norwood,Health and Wellness Ambassador from Detroit, Michigan discusses topics of Teen Suicide, Substance Abuse/Addiction, Teen Pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Diseases.
#BreakingWallsProgram
#BWdoesWarsaw

Breaking Walls artists are collaborating on what will inspire their performance. Its the beginning of whats soon to come.seleccio_1011

Our director/founder, Fran Tarr, is excited to share that your ongoing belief in and support for Breaking Walls fuel our forward movement!!
Today we are seeking your support again for our our 2017 CONNECT * CREATE * CHANGE INDIEGOGO CAMPAIGN!!
Your contributions will empower the lives of 40 Breaking Walls artists, ambassadors and associates from 7 cities over 12 days!
Breaking Walls 2017 Warsaw – the sixth annual initiative will consist of community-building, creative writing, creation of a theater piece, and a culminating performance for a live audience, plus the opportunity to share face-to-face dialogue and life experiences as a creative community. The 28 artists, ambassadors and 3 associates from Barcelona, Berlin, Bethlehem, Brooklyn, Cape Town, Detroit and Warsaw will come together for ten days to write about issues of self awareness, freedom of expression and how to shape an accepting, peaceful world. Additionally, our artists, ambassadors and associates will contribute one full day of community service to Warsaw.
Your support will go far beyond nutritional meals, a safe place to stay as a creative community and cultural excursions as a global family – it can change the direction of a young person’s life for each our 40 artists, ambassadors and associates participating our 2017 Warsaw initiative!!!
#breakingwallsprogram

The Fundraising Event, Celebrating Our Global Family, that took place on March 19th, 2017 was a great success and beautiful turn out. I saw so many faces that were eager to be a part of our Breaking Walls Community and Family. The speakers, Dr. Amorie Robinson, Georges Prosper, Mimi Norwood, and Dr. Simmons, who presented had such powerful words. They moved me and my fellow artists to create our own “blueprint” for changing the world. These community leaders and role models spoke to us on personal levels and helped us open our minds even further to the world around us and how we can impact it.
Heading to Poland with Breaking Walls will be so exciting to experience. I can’t wait to have more Breaking Walls family that I can relate to and learn from. Going to Poland will be just another step on the pathway to making a better community around me and a better global community as a whole. Meeting the Breaking Walls artists from Poland will further help us with making our blueprint to change the world one person or in this case one global family at a time.
Thank you Dr. Simmons for a wonderful experience and being our 2016 Special Mentor – a title you richly deserve. Dr. Norwood – thank you for being our 2017 Health & Wellness Ambassadors – welcome to the family. See you in Warsaw!!
Detroit Artist – Joelle Sanders

Breaking Walls and our friends and supporters in Detroit will host a celebration of peace and acceptance on Sunday, March 19 from 3:00pm to 6:00pm at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. The celebration which features the inspirational voices of community leaders and activists: Dr. Earlexia Norwood, Amorie Robinson, Rabi Alana Alpert, Rashida Tlaib and Georges Prosper and performances by the Heritage Works Dance Company and the Detroit breaking walls artist. The celebration is a fundraiser for breaking walls 2017 Warsaw where 40 young breaking walls artists from Barcelona, Berlin, Bethlehem, Palestine, Brooklyn, Cape Town and Detroit will join their peers in Warsaw, Poland to express the strength and beauty of the human spirit, inviting the world to build on the platform they create with their voices, dreams, words and production skills.

We look forward to welcoming you! To make your reservation contact: breakingwallspro@gmail.com

Your suggested contribution of $50.00 will assist in making Breaking Walls 2017 Warsaw a reality!!

 

Our “Celebrating Our Global Family” evening that took place for Breaking Walls on January 30th was certainly an unforgettable one. The meet-n-greet was certainly interesting, and it was refreshing to see so many people who were curious about how the youth plan on changing the future for the better. After greeting our supporters, our ambassador (Egypt) introduced the Vice-Consul from the Polish Consulate, the Consul General from the German Consulate and the Political Consul from the South African Consulate whom I met not long before. These professional diplomats took a great interest in our role and took time to hear what we had to share about Breaking Walls. A short video was shown in which our international brothers and sisters shared their own thoughts on Breaking Walls, and the positive impact it had on their lives and perspectives. After the film, our performance took place. I must say, I was certainly moved by the attention our words drew, and the sparks of awe in those that had not known what was to come that night. The following Q & A was one of the many highlights of the welcoming. Breaking Walls has once again shown me how one idea, can slowly but surely change our lives forever. I cannot wait to continue my journey and share my story with my Breaking Walls family in Poland, 2017.

-Naya Mason

Breaking Walls Brooklyn Artist