This February, the War Childhood Museum continued its work through educational visits, international advocacy, and projects supporting educators and young people.
Read more about our activities this month:
Educational Programs and Visits
During February, we welcomed educational groups from Spain, Italy, Northern Ireland, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Through guided tours and discussions, participants explored how children experience war and how personal objects and memories can help build empathy, understanding, and dialogue across cultures.
We also visited one of the schools participating in the Creativity for Peace program in Bosanski Petrovac. During the visit, we spoke with peer educators who are leading workshops for their classmates and using creative approaches to explore themes of peace, dialogue, and shared responsibility in their communities.
Take a look at the interviews with peer educators here.
Conferences, Seminars, and Exhibitions
On February 20, War Childhood Museum Ukraine’s Program Director Svitlana Osipchuk participated in the 2nd IEG LivArch Workshop, hosted by the Leibniz Institute of European History. During the workshop, she discussed how sensitive topics are reflected in the Museum’s archive, which was established in the context of the war in Ukraine. Svitlana also highlighted the institutional growth over the past year that has strengthened the museum’s capacity to work with complex and sensitive themes.
On the eve of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Svitlana also participated in the panel discussion “Civil Conflict Transformation in the Midst of the Ongoing War” as part of the Cafe Kyiv events in Berlin. She shared insights into the origins of the War Childhood Museum Ukraine and its development while operating under the conditions of war. During the discussion, she emphasized why children’s stories are as important as those of adults and why they must be integrated into the broader narrative of war and conflict.
News
This year, the War Childhood Museum signed a long-term Memorandum of Cooperation with the Professional Center for Addiction Prevention, enabling mentor–volunteer pairs involved in the Older Brother, Older Sister program to visit the Museum free of charge. The partnership aims to support children and young people through meaningful cultural and educational experiences.
We spent time with participants in the program and shared their story about the Museum as a space for connection and mentorship.
Read the full story here.
In February, we also opened the call for applications for the Lejla Hairlahović-Hušić Scholarship, which supports young researchers working on topics related to childhood, war, and memory.
You can read more about the call here, and an interview with last year’s scholarship recipient Amer Maslo here.
February also marked the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On this occasion, we shared a text highlighting how the War Childhood Museum Ukraine team continues its work under the conditions of ongoing war.
Operating since 2020, the War Childhood Museum Ukraine has become one of the key institutions in the country systematically documenting children’s experiences of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Despite the immense challenges brought by the invasion, the Museum’s team continues collecting stories, preserving objects, and working with communities.
Learn more about how the Museum operates under the full-scale invasion here.
Projects
Throughout February, the War Childhood Museum Ukraine team conducted five workshops for educators as part of the project “How to Talk to Children About Memory: Using the Object-Based Learning Method.”
Participants explored how objects can serve as powerful carriers of personal memory and learned practical approaches for discussing war with children in ways that avoid retraumatization. In the next phase of the project, participating educators will implement lessons using the methodological materials developed by the museum.
Media Mentions
The War Childhood Museum continued to receive attention in both local and international media during February. Below is a selection of coverage from the past month:
Muzej ratnog djetinjstva: Otvoren konkurs za stipendiju Lejla Hairlahović-Hušić — Federalna.ba
https://federalna.ba/muzej-ratnog-djetinjstva-otvoren-konkurs-za-stipendiju-lejla-hairlahovic-husic-57gp8 (BOSNIAN)
À Sarajevo, un musée donne une voix à l’enfance en guerre à travers ses objets — La Croix
https://www.la-croix.com/culture/a-sarajevo-un-musee-donne-une-voix-a-l-enfance-en-guerre-a-travers-ses-objets-20260228 (FRENCH)
