The WCM stands with our staff, our participants in the collection, our partners, our friends, and our audiences in Ukraine. The world has to show every possible support to the citizens of Ukraine now. We thank the WCM’s global community for compassion and solidarity and we ask all of you: Support Ukraine now!
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24 February 2022, 8:59 CET: The War Childhood Museum’s staff is still in Kyiv, Ukraine, where they decided to stay. They are all safe so far. We are ready to provide any support they need while in Ukraine or if they decide to leave.
24 February 2022, 20:15 CET: The War Childhood Museum team and friends gather in front of the Sarajevo’s City Hall, illuminated in the colors of the Ukrainian flag and bearing the message “Solidarity with the people of Ukraine”. We stand with our staff, our participants in the collection, our partners and friends, and our audiences in Ukraine.
25 February 2022, 12:00 CET: Anti-war protests begin in Sarajevo, with citizens gathering in front of the memorial honoring child victims of the siege of Sarajevo and expressing their solidarity and support for the people of Ukraine. The WCM team is also present, with the Managing Director Jasminko Halilovic giving a statement to the press.
Following the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, the War Childhood Museum worked on raising media awareness in Bosnia and Herzegovina by giving dozens of interviews and helping ensure a platform for Ukrainian activists and politicians.
26 February 2022, 14:40 CET: The War Childhood Museum’s full-time staff left Kyiv and is now heading towards Western Ukraine. They have almost reached the area which is considered to be safe territory. The WCM’s Managing Director Jasminko Halilovic traveled to Ukraine last week and managed to evacuate 36 objects from our Ukrainian collection on February 20. These objects are to be featured in the upcoming WCM’s exhibitions in Sarajevo, Belgrade, Pristina, and Venice. However, most of the WCM’s Ukraine collection remains in our depot in Kyiv. We are closely monitoring the situation and we hope that the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of armed conflict and its First Protocol will be respected. We are currently looking for additional ways to assist our part-time collaborators, partners, and our staff’s family members.
Safety of museum collections across Ukraine and the cultural workers response is the main topic of the New York Times article by Valerie Hopkins and Alex Marshall. The WCM’s Jasminko Halilovic also spoke with the reporters regarding the War Childhood Museum’s Ukraine collection.
