On the occasion of the Universal Children’s Day, the EU Info Centre in Bosnia and Herzegovina organised an exhibition and art performance “I am a child once – I need a family too!” on 19 November.
The photographs by renowned BiH photographer, Velija Hasanbegović, portrayed children growing up in foster families and homes for children without parental care. Based on interviews made with three foster families, BiH actresses Arma Tanović, Maja Salkić and Dženita Imamović told an emotional story of three foster mothers, their personal experiences, challenges and motivations.
In his opening speech, Renzo Daviddi, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the Delegation of the European Union to BiH, underlined that children have always been at the heart of EU policy and that their protection remains high on the EU agenda.
“Since 2008 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the European Commission has supported projects in the amount of 4.6 million EUR for the Social Protection and Inclusion to help build a system that will ensure adequate social protection of all children and families,” he said, adding that the EU will continue working with BiH institutions to build a system that would transform the care institutions for children with disabilities and separated from families, under a new contract in the amount of 1 million EUR.
Daviddi also reminded everyone of the EU Children for Peace Initiative which funds humanitarian projects for children in conflict and situations of emergency providing them with access to schools where they can learn in a safe environment and receive psychological support to deal with their traumatic war experiences. “By the end of 2015, more than 1, 5 million children are expected to have benefited from this initiative,” he concluded.
“With the exhibition and art performance, we want to support the idea of foster care, and the idea that the family environment is the best for every child. In BiH, more than a thousand children without parental care are spending their childhood in institutions. Tonight, more than seventy babies won’t be kissed before bed, nor hear a bedtime story. Let us join forces to change their lives and make joint efforts to enable every child to have a family,” said Jasna Hodžić, Director of the Hope and Homes for Children BiH.
The event was organized in cooperation with the organisation Hope and Homes for Children BiH as part of the EU co-funded campaign “Opening doors for Europe’s children” led by the aforementioned organisation and Eurochild. The campaign is being carried out at the EU level also including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine.
Universal Children’s Day is marked on 20 November, the day on which the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, in 1959, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. The General Assembly recommended that all countries institute a Universal Children’s Day to be observed as a day of worldwide fraternity and understanding of and among children.
