Staff members of the Delegation of the EU to BiH and Office of the EU Special Representative in BiH welcome and support the civil society action “I am the Museum” which lasts from August to October 4th 2015. The aim of the action is to remind the public in Bosnia and Herzegovina and internationally that the National Museum has been closed for almost three years, and to motivate those in charge of resolving the matter of financing the Museum.
The National Museum is the oldest institution of its kind in BiH and the first one in the South Eastern Europe built with this specific purpose. It is an institution of the highest cultural, historical and scientific significance, preserving the cultural heritage of all people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Due to a number of factors including its difficult legal and financial situation, the Museum was closed to the public in 2012.
The purpose of the “I am the Museum” action is to change the image of the Museum in the media and the public and to shift attention to the situation of the employees and the legal issues of the Museum. The action consists of art actions – portraits and stories of the Museum’s workers, literary work about the Museum from BiH and regional writers – and ‘duty shift for the Museum’ which enables social actors, public persons and citizens to send a message about the urgency of resolving the Museum’s status. On behalf on the EUD/EUSR in BiH, Dr. Jasna Jelisic, EUSR political advisor, Jan Snaidauf, Head of Political and Economic Section and Andy McGuffie, Head of Communication and EU Spokesperson have so far participated in the ‘duty shift for the Museum’ action.
Jasna Jelisic said: “As a citizen of this country, and as a tax payer, I wanted to say that I, and many other taxpayers, want part of our tax contribution to go towards the financing of the National museum of BiH, which is the oldest and the most valuable institution of its kind in BiH. Without the collections in that Museum, we have far less to show as proof of living in a decent civilization. Without the treasures in the National museum, we have no solid basis for our social, intellectual and cultural development in this country. We know how things cannot be done in BiH, but we need to find a way to do what is needed, and find a way to ensure that cultural heritage of the highest value for all people of BIH and the region is preserved. Citizens showed that they care and that they are willing to take concrete action to protect this treasure. That’s hugely important. The next task is to make the National museum flourish with cultural programmes and exhibitions after it opens.”
Jan Snaidauf said: “The importance of the museum rests at least at three levels. First, the accumulated value of its collections, which is obviously immense, and containing some truly unique items. Second, the significance that the museum has for everyone in Bosnia and Herzegovina – it is everyone’s heritage, and almost everyone has their own stories about the museum from their childhood. And third, the symbolic meaning that the museum has acquired: a symbol of citizens’ struggle for unity and desired ‘normalisation’ of public affairs. For all these reasons, it is important that the museum reopens, and sustainable funding for that needs to be found by the public budgets in BiH.”
Andy McGuffie said: “The Museum is an immense cultural asset for Bosnia and Herzegovina and for Europe. It has something to offer every citizen of the country in terms of history and sense of identity. For tourists, it is a place to acquire a deep understanding of this diverse country and region. As a place of education, discovery and civilization, it should be open to the public as soon as possible, for the long term. Furthermore, some creative thinking is also going to be needed to help the Museum obtain revenue for future development.”
To find out more about the action, please visit the FB and Twitter page JasamMuzejhttps://www.facebook.com/JasamMuzej, https://twitter.com/jasammuzej or the websitewww.jasam.zemaljskimuzej.ba/ .
