Jasminko Halilovic

About

Jasminko Halilovic was born in 1988 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He holds a master degree in financial management and he is a PhD candidate researching museum management.

Jasminko is the Founder and CEO of the War Childhood Museum — the world's only museum exclusively focused on the experience of childhood affected by war — which has been awarded the Council of Europe Museum Prize under the European Museum of the Year scheme.

He is the author / editor of several books, including monograph 'Sarajevo – My City, a Place to Meet', and the award-winning 'War Childhood' that has been translated into six languages.

Jasminko was a keynote speaker at various museum, peacebuilding or entrepreneurship conferences in more than 10 countries. He is regularly invited to present or teach at universities around the world, including Northwestern University (USA), Columbia University (USA), Toronto University (Canada), Kyoto University (Japan), Maria Curie-Skłodowska University (Poland). He contributed to various media, including The Huffington Post and Asahi Shimbun.

He is a member of Global Shapers Community established by the World Economic Forum, a member of WARM Foundation focusing on conflict research, and the One Young World Ambassador. In 2018, Halilovic became the first Bosnian to be selected for the prestigious Forbes "30 under 30" list. In 2023, he was selected a European Young Leader (EYL40).

Halilovic has been a serial entrepreneur since the age of 16 and co-founded several businesses before committing himself full-time to the War Childhood Museum. He is a passionate traveler and has visited more than 90 countries.

War Childhood Museum

Rising from the crowd-sourced book War Childhood and championing the principles and practices of social entrepreneurship, the independent, not-for-profit, youth-led War Childhood Museum has garnered recognition as the world’s only museum focused exclusively on childhoods that have been affected by war.

Through its unique platform, the WCM is able to tackle trauma at an individual level for both participants, whose personal stories and objects comprise the museum’s collection, and visitors – ultimately contributing to greater understanding for society on whole. Its first permanent exhibition opened in January 2017, seven years after the project’s beginnings, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Having proven successful in providing Bosnians of all ages with a rare opportunity to confront the traumas of their recent past without reinforcing ethnic boundaries, the WCM has expanded its activities to contemporary conflict, post-conflict, and resettlement zones. Today, the WCM has offices in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Netherlands and United States, and it is becoming an international platform that gives voice to current and former war children.

Its quick growth aggregated a lot of attention and facilitated collaboration between the WCM and some of the world’s leading universities. WCM's efforts have received media coverage from New York City to Tokyo.

The 2018 Council of Europe Museum Prize – one of the most prestigious prizes in the museum industry – was awarded to the War Childhood Museum as part of the European Museum of the Year Awards.