The War Childhood Museum is dedicated to ensuring that its facilities and materials are accessible to all its visitors, and thus actively works on creating a space where everyone can feel welcome and accepted!
The ongoing year was marked by significant adjustments of the WCM’s exhibition-related content and educational materials, so as to fit the needs of persons with disabilities – this was a direct result of us strengthening ties with museums and museum professionals in the region, who are experts in the field of accessibility and inclusion, as well as establishing cooperation with several organizations in the Sarajevo Canton. With their advice and assistance, the WCM continues to find new ways on how to be more accessible in regards to its exhibitions and educational activities, as well as initiate different activities, namely guided tours of its permanent exhibition for children, youth, and adults with disabilities.
Strategies such as use of verbal descriptions and discussions, as well as incorporation of tactile experience of several exhibits, were employed for the group visit of students from the Center for Blind and Visually Impaired Children and Youth, while visits of the Association for Support of Children with Hearing and Speech Impairment “EHO” and the Association of the Hearing Impaired People of the Sarajevo Canton, together with the peacebuilding workshop for students of the Center for Hearing and Speech Rehabilitation Sarajevo, involved the assistance of the sign language interpreter.
In 2021, the WCM started to: offer guided tours with sign language interpretation for groups of six or more visitors, document testimonies of persons with disabilities, and cooperate with the Balkan Museum Access Group (BMAG), the only group of its kind in the region, bringing together museum professionals with training in accessibility.
The cooperation with BMAG resulted in a conducted Access Survey, with recommendations and insights forming the basis of the WCM’s new Accessibility Increase Plan, the main aim of which is to ensure that the WCM’s permanent exhibition, but also its educational activities, are adjusted and accessible to persons of different ages who are D/deaf or hard of hearing and blind or partially sighted.
Taking into account insights and feedback of persons with disabilities, the WCM will gradually implement this plan in the upcoming period, as it is our wish for the War Childhood Museum to be an inviting place of growth for both our visitors and the Museum Team, rather than a place of occasional meetings.
