While working on a documentary about the intangible cultural heritage of the place – and its importance in generating social inclusion, but also in combating drug-related crime – Claudio became aware of the disparity between the goodness of their ideas and the resources available to communicate or defend them.

In fact, the scarcity of resources made their initiatives – useful for the small local community, but also rich in meaning for people of all latitudes – invisible in the face of the threat of a dominant, media-attractive culture with far more resources to spread its messages.

The idea was born to turn more than 20 years of experience – in reporting, advertising and international publishing – into a tool to be shared with small communities that are marginalized or made vulnerable by the processes of homogenization taking place everywhere in the world.

The idea came to fruition in 2009 in Ethiopia, largely thanks to the support of writer Angela Altieri McDonald. For many years, Ayzoh! operated as an informal and transnational collective of media, design, and social science professionals.