The War Childhood Museum (WCM) opened its exhibition in Bihac last night. The exhibition gives insight into the experiences of children from BiH, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Croatia, Kosovo, and Eritrea.
Speaking at the opening event were the WCM’s Executive Director, Amina Krvavac, and the Chief of Mission of the IOM BiH, Laura Lungarotti.
Krvavac began her address by pointing out that the exhibition showcases only a small part of the War Childhood Museum’s collection which holds several thousand artifacts.
”With this exhibition and our work in general we aim to give voice to children and youth, in that way learning more about the experiences and needs of children from war-affected areas. Moreover, we want to raise awareness of the fact that all of us can and must work on building and strengthening peace, dialogue, and trust within the society, as well as fostering empathy that dispels fear of those different from us.
Amina KrvavacWCM Executive Director
Krvavac concluded her address by thanking the exhibitions’ partners and all those who helped produce it, and left the floor to the IOM’s Laura Lungarotti.
Lungarotti expressed delight at the War Childhood Museum’s exhibition being in Bihac for the first time and invited everyone to read the exhibited stories carefully, as it is important to understand the presented experiences fully, and do so from the perspective of children affected by war, including migrant children.
“The opening of this exhibition is a part of our efforts to connect the local or host community with the community of the people on the move. Migrations shouldn’t be perceived as a problem, but rather a part of our everyday life, and as some of the exhibited items will show these are also the experiences of people from BiH,” said Lungarotti, adding that all of us can and should work towards creating an open and accepting environment for all.
The exhibition will be on view at the “Ideja” Youth Center (502. viteske brdske brigade Street) until Sunday, July 10, and the entrance is free for all visitors. Working hours of the exhibition are from 10:00 to 13:00, and from 17:00 to 21:00.
This is the fourth traveling exhibition this year for the WCM, following Belgrade, Prishtina, and Strasbourg. The exhibition is realized in cooperation with the “U pokretu” Association and “IPSIA BiH”, and as a part of the “Bosnia and Herzegovina: enhancing social cohesion in communities hosting people on the move” project implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
