HEAR THE CHILDREN: HEALING THROUGH STORIES AND ART
Lead organisation: Art Center „Cublo“ (Ukraine)
Partner organisations: Humanity in Action Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Education for Equality and Ecology – Edeqec (Slovak Republic)
Implementation period: 12/2023 – 3/2024
The project was supported through the "Culture Helps / Культура допомагає", implemented by Insha Osvita (Ukraine) in cooperation with zusa (Germany) and with the support of the European Union and the Creative Europe programme.
Under the leadership of the Ukrainian organisation Art Center „Cublo“ and in cooperation with the Bosnian organisation Humanity in Action Bosnia and Herzegovina we participated in the project Hear the Children: Healing through Stories and Art". The project focused on supporting children and youth in Ukraine, giving them an appreciation of their individual voices. The lead organisation worked intensively with the children over several months, guiding them through four artistic tools to process their war-related experiences. All this, of course, was done under psychological supervision. The children and young people recorded their experiences through visual arts, podcasts, playback theatre and literature, thus transforming them into an artistic form. This international initiative and the collaboration of professionals from different fields provided a safe space for children in Ukraine to express themselves and strengthen their resilience. The final exhibition brought children's thoughts, feelings and lives during the war to a broader audience, highlighting the power and honesty of children's testimonies.
The project has also strengthened the international cooperation of professionals from Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Slovakia working in art therapy, psychology, education, art, and other disciplines. Our involvement consisted mainly of sharing expertise and knowledge in the field of sensitisation, respect for human rights and the current Slovak experience of threats to democracy. Our experts have repeatedly participated in trips to Sarajevo and activities in Ukraine. The practical workshop in Sarajevo was intended to highlight the Bosnian experience of the war, the consequences still visible today and the way forward with regard to the Slovak experience as an EU member state. The multicultural and multidisciplinary spirit of the workshop allowed us to conceptualise the differences and similarities between the three countries and how they deal with the past and the present.