The European Museum of the Year 2019 Award Ceremony was held on 25 May 2019 at the iconic Sarajevo National Theatre, as the final event of a four-day conference.

The annual conference, organised by the European Museum Forum, was brought to Sarajevo by the War Childhood Museum, with whom the EU Office has been cooperating for a number of years.

In his welcoming address at the Award Ceremony, EU Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Lars-Gunnar Wigemark commended the War Childhood Museum, a recipient of the 2018 Council of Europe Museum Prize, for its role in educating future generations.

“As we see conflicting narratives and even attempts at historical revisionism emerge in public discourse in our societies, we are reminded of the importance of understanding our history, our way of life and our cultural diversity. We are very diverse as Europeans, which is our strength,” Ambassador Wigemark emphasised.

This year’s European Museum of the Year Award was awarded to the Rijksmuseum Boerhaave in Leiden from the Netherlands, outstanding for its artful approach to communicating science.

Museums play an invaluable part in enriching and documenting the diverse and evolving cultural life of Europe and the European Union. Promoting diversity through international cultural relations is also an important part of the EU’s role as a global actor.

The EU has invested heavily in the preservation of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s cultural heritage, with projects worth over €15 million euros having been implemented already.

Going forward, the EU will remain engaged with cultural institutions across Bosnia and Herzegovina to promote important cultural events and to preserve the country’s heritage for the benefit of all its citizens, and Europe as a whole.

The EU Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina was the main sponsor of the European Museum of the Year 2019 Award Ceremony.