Unfortunately, one of the most defining moments in Bosnian history is war that went on from 1992 to 1995. In those years Sarajevo suffered the longest siege in the modern history. 1425 days. This museum reminds us of those who are hurt the most in such awful circumstances, which we as a society very often ignore. The children.
Rising from the crowd-sourced book War Childhood and championing the principles and practices of social entrepreneurship, the independent, youth-led War Childhood Museum has garnered recognition as the world’s only museum focused exclusively on childhoods that have been affected by war.
Through its unique platform, the WCM is able to tackle trauma at an individual level for both participants, whose personal stories and objects comprise the museum’s collection, and visitors – ultimately contributing to greater understanding for society on whole. Its first permanent exhibition opened in January 2017, seven years after the project’s beginnings, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Having proven successful in providing Bosnians of all ages with a rare opportunity to confront the traumas of their recent past without reinforcing ethnic boundaries, the WCM has expanded its activities to contemporary conflict, post-conflict, and resettlement zones. Today, the WCM operates in Lebanon, Ukraine, and the United States – becoming an international platform that gives voice to current and former war children.
The mission of the War Childhood Museum is to continuously and in accordance to the highest standards document and digitize materials related to growing up in the war, and to present the archived materials throughout various media channels in order to educate a broad audience about this experience.
Visiting WCM will be very emotional for most, but could also serve as a learning experience and could possibly change your life perspective for the better.