This September, the War Childhood Museum continued its work through educational visits, international research and documentation, exhibitions, peacebuilding activities, and institutional cooperation. Throughout the month, we expanded our documentation initiatives in Ukraine and the Netherlands, completed our research in Colombia, and participated in events promoting peace, education, and the role of cultural institutions in society.
Read more about our activities this month:
Educational Programs and Visits
Throughout September, we welcomed educational groups and visitors from different cities across Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as from France, Japan, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, and the United States.
We were also pleased to welcome back a group from the Ukrainian NGO STAN, which returned to the Museum for another visit and a conversation with our Education Programme Coordinator and Lead Educator, Merima Ražanica.
International Research and Documentation
In September, War Childhood Museum Ukraine announced two new collaborations to strengthen its work documenting childhood experiences of the Russian-Ukrainian War: a partnership with the Ukraine War Archive and a new documentation initiative within the “People of the Future” project.
The Museum also completed its research and documentation project in Colombia, conducted in collaboration with researcher Louis Monroy Santander. Through the project, WCM collected personal stories and objects documenting childhood experiences shaped by Colombia’s decades-long armed conflict. In an interview marking the conclusion of the research, Monroy reflected on the stories he encountered and the lasting impact of conflict on people’s lives.
Monroy also presented the Museum’s documentation process at Javeriana University in Bogotá, sharing photographs and stories from the research with students, educators, and practitioners.
In the Netherlands, the Museum launched a new initiative to collect personal stories from people who experienced war as children and now live in the country. The initiative invites contributions from different generations and communities, including those affected by the Second World War and conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Ukraine. The collected stories will become part of the Museum’s international collection and contribute to a wider initiative to present WCM’s work through a major exhibition in The Hague.
To mark the International Day for Universal Access to Information, September 28, Andrii Borutia, researcher and public program coordinator at War Childhood Museum Ukraine, reflected on the state of Ukrainian archives and open data, highlighting their importance for preserving memory during wartime. Read his article (UKRAINIAN).
Exhibitions and International Projects
In September, the youth-created exhibition “Nekad se zakuha” (“Things Sometimes Boil Over”) was presented at the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of the PitchWise Festival.
Developed by young people from Prnjavor through the “Furaj mir” (“Live Peace”) program, with the support and mentorship of the War Childhood Museum, the exhibition explores the experiences of displaced people and refugees who now live in Prnjavor. Through food and everyday experiences, it examines themes of survival, care, displacement, and rebuilding a sense of home. Following presentations in Prnjavor and Novi Pazar, the exhibition reached audiences in Sarajevo.
September also marked the conclusion of texTALES, a two-year project co-funded by the European Union through the Creative Europe Programme. The project brought together partners and participants from Italy, France, and Greece to explore how fashion, textile design, and storytelling can challenge stereotypes about migration and promote inclusion.
The collaboration resulted in Handle With Care, a travelling exhibition and fashion collection shaped by personal experiences of migration and belonging. Watch the final video documenting the creative journey of texTALES, from participants’ stories and collaborative workshops to exhibitions across Europe.
Peacebuilding and Education
To mark the International Day of Peace, September 21, the War Childhood Museum organized “The Body Speaks the Language of Support,” an Image Theater workshop with 15 ninth-grade students from Mula Mustafa Bašeskija Primary School in Sarajevo.
Through movement and creative expression, students explored empathy and solidarity with children affected by armed conflict. Together, they developed a short performance imagining a world without conflict and the steps needed to build it. Take a look at the workshop video.
Our Education Programme Coordinator and Lead Educator, Merima Ražanica, also participated in the panel “Classrooms for Peace – From Education Policy to Classroom Practice” at the forum “War is the Topic. Education is the Purpose.”, organized by BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina. The discussion focused on the role of education in fostering peace and translating peacebuilding principles into classroom practice.
The War Childhood Museum Ukraine team also participated in the “Vidsich” Book Forum in Zhytomyr on September 19. Svitlana Osipchuk, Program Director of WCM Ukraine, joined the panel “Dignity Begins in Childhood,”discussing the importance of preserving diverse childhood experiences of war and avoiding simplified narratives.
At the same event, Nataliia Ponezha, co-author of the Museum’s educational materials How to Talk to Children About Memory: Using the Object-Based Learning Method, led a practical seminar introducing participants to object-based learning and its application in classrooms and community work.
Institutional Cooperation and Public Engagement
In September, the War Childhood Museum hosted a reception with members of its Global Advisory Board and the American Chamber of Commerce in Bosnia and Herzegovina (AmCham BiH). The event brought together business leaders and representatives of the diplomatic community, providing an opportunity to strengthen relationships and exchange ideas about supporting the Museum’s work. Take a look at the atmosphere from the reception.
Our Exhibitions Manager, Ivana Roso, participated in the sixth Sarajevo Creative Meet, held under the theme “City as a Stage.” As part of the panel “Cultural Institutions as Creative Infrastructure,” she discussed the role of museums and cultural institutions in supporting contemporary artistic practices, education, community engagement, and the development of Sarajevo’s creative ecosystem.
Members of the War Childhood Museum team also joined Race for the Cure, showing solidarity with people affected by breast cancer and their families.
Media Mentions
The War Childhood Museum continued to receive attention in international and regional media throughout September. Below is a selection of coverage from the past month:
- Growing Up in War: Memory Becomes Peacebuilding – IJAB (ENGLISH)
- The Weight of Remembrance: Museums’ Considerations in Portraying the Past – Balkan Diskurs (ENGLISH)
- War Childhood Museum – Deutsche Welle / DW Travel (VIDEO)
