After studying international relations together for several years at the Graduate Institute, Matthias Rüst and Sofyen Khalfaoui became close friends while preparing for their final exams in 2007. After graduation, Mr Rüst became a junior professional with the International Bureau of Education (IBE-UNESCO), studied peace education at Transcend Peace University and eventually settled in Colombia in 2011, where he founded the RESPIRA programme. The programme uses the practice of mindfulness to promote peacebuilding and peace education in schools, communities, social organisations and companies in areas affected by armed conflict, as well as in vulnerable neighborhoods of major cities.

Mr Khalfaoui, meanwhile, undertook a career in child protection and education in emergency settings. His humanitarian engagement first took him to RET International in Chad and Lebanon, as part of the response to conflict in Darfur and Syria. He then became a consultant with the UNHCR, after which he pursued a field commitment with Save the Children in Iraq, where he designed programmes dedicated to children’s wellbeing and resilience in conflict settings. Since 2016, Mr Khalfaoui has been in Switzerland and leads the Protection Programme of Save the Children Switzerland. He has also developed theatre projects addressing questions of trauma and identity.
 
Building on the RESPIRA programme, Mr Rüst and Mr Khalfaoui founded BREATHE International in 2018 as an international NGO that uses the practice of mindfulness as an accessible, practical and effective peace education and peace-building strategy. The organisation provides direct programme implementation with diverse target groups, ranging from GBV and HIV-AIDS support workers in South Sudan to children in Swiss schools. In parallel, the organisation will further engage in promoting self-care for (humanitarian) workers.