November at the War Childhood Museum was filled with meaningful visits, international collaborations, and the launch of a milestone project. Here’s a look back at the activities we hosted and participated in throughout the month.
Educational Visits and Programs
This November, we welcomed 18 educational visits from schools and institutions across Bosnia-Herzegovina and countries like Croatia, Italy, the Netherlands, and Montenegro.
As part of the “Social Issues in International Perspective” seminar series, we hosted students from HU Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, led by Professor Alma Mustafić, and their counterparts from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Sarajevo. This program, a collaboration with the University of Sarajevo’s Faculty of Political Sciences, helps students broaden their understanding of social issues by exploring the impact of conflict on communities. Read more about the visit here.
Special Visit from Taiwan
In November we also welcomed Daphne Weng and Ann Chen, graduate students from Taiwan specializing in museum studies, to the Museum. Their visit followed their presentation at the ICOM-CECA conference in Athens, where Weng spotlighted WCM’s methods for engaging children with war-related topics. Having previously discovered the Museum during research and visiting our Seoul exhibition, Weng’s enthusiasm for our mission was heartwarming. We wish them both the best in their academic pursuits!
“PEACESTORY: Empowering Creative Peacebuilders and Educators“
This month, we launched “PEACESTORY: Empowering Creative Peacebuilders and Educators,” a two-year project supported by the United Nations Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund. The initiative aims to empower youth in over 20 municipalities across Bosnia and Herzegovina and enhance the capacities of teaching staff in more than 30 local communities to incorporate peace education methods.
To mark the project’s beginning, we hosted Ingrid Macdonald, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Charles Anyidoho, Deputy Director for Europe and Central Asia at the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, during their visit.
In addition, we organized a meeting with school directors participating in the “Creativity for Peace” segment of PEACESTORY and published a call for new applications.
Lectures and Panels
WCM’s Director-General, Jasminko Halilović, delivered a lecture to students at Al-Quds Bard College for Arts and Sciences in the West Bank, Palestine. Speaking to a group studying transitional justice and human rights, he shared insights into our practices and commitment to amplifying children’s voices.
Our collaborator, Haneen Khaled Jadallah, participated online in a panel titled “Reviving the Palestinian Voice through the Use of Traditional Stories.” Organized by the Association for the Support of Education, Upbringing, Culture, and Tradition “Fairy Tale,” the panel highlighted how fairy tales serve as a form of resistance and advocacy for freedom. Khaled shared her experiences documenting children’s lives in Gaza for the War Childhood Museum.
World Children’s Day
On November 20, we marked World Children’s Day by showcasing stories from our collection that demonstrate the profound ways conflict impacts children’s lives, aiming to raise awareness that 473 million children – more than one in six globally – are currently living in conflict zones. We organized a peacebuilding workshop on children’s rights for students from Bugojno’s Technical School and their guests from Nikšić’s Secondary School of Economics and Hospitality in Montenegro. This workshop, part of the RYCO Superschools project, fostered intercultural understanding and laid the groundwork for future partnerships.
Stay tuned for more updates on upcoming events and initiatives!
