Italian edition of the book War Childhood presented in Sarajevo

The Italian Embassy in Sarajevo organised, together with the local Delegation of the European Union, an event to celebrate the sixth anniversary of the World Childhood Museum, one of the most appreciated and visited museums in the city, and winner of the 2018 Council of Europe Museum Prize as part of the "Museum of the Year" award programme.

Participants in the event, which was well attended, included the Minister of Culture and Sports of Sarajevo Canton, Samir Avdic, the Minister of Communications and Transport, Edin Forto, the founder and General Director of the Museum, Jasminko Halilovic, as well as many other exponents of the international community. The initiative was an opportunity to present the recently published Italian edition of the book War Childhood, supported by the Italian Embassy and written by Halilovic himself. Having already been translated and presented in many countries after its first publication in 2013, the book is considered a classic piece of literature on reconciliation in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

"I gladly welcomed the idea of producing with my friend Jasminko and with the direct support of the Embassy an Italian edition of the book", said Italian Ambassador Marco Di Ruzza."The initiative is, in fact, completely in tune with the dual approach characterising our cultural diplomacy in Bosnia-Herzegovina: that is, a flexible and effective tool both to further consolidate bilateral relations and to contribute to the processes of reconciliation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which are still complex but crucial for the country's European perspective, and not surprisingly expressly included among the Fourteen Key Priorities indicated by the European Commission in May 2019. Ambassador Di Ruzza added that "With the same spirit, we are committed to supporting the construction of the Ars Aevi Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by Renzo Piano: a project that seemed to have been hopelessly stalled for years but which we managed to relaunch, using both idealism and concreteness, working in close synergy with the Canton and City of Sarajevo. The goal is to build a future museum space that is modern, inclusive, multi-ethnic, of the highest artistic value and with an unmistakable Italian touch".