The strongest aim of the undertaking
Raising and educating new generations through the finest human examples
We want to turn the memory of people who helped others in the hardest of times into an educational force. Two further aims follow from this one: documented aid to Serbia, and using history to build a humane future.
Examples of both kinds
The Serbian people heroically defended their country and their freedom. Many foreigners did the same simply to help others, expecting no benefit or reward.
Such examples, of both kinds, are among the most valuable legacies of human civilisation. It is on these examples that we should educate and raise our new generations.
We believe that the culture of remembrance should not only preserve the past. It should also be a path of upbringing for the future.
What moves a person?
When France asked for 100 volunteers among its doctors to go to Serbia, around 2,000 came forward, according to the testimony of Raoul Labry.
For us this is not merely a historical fact. It is a question we want to put to every young person: what moves someone, when another is in need, to place their knowledge and ability at that person’s service?
We want a child who comes to know a doctor who came to Serbia, a nurse who cared for the sick, or anyone else who took risks for others, to think one day:
“If that person could help someone they had never met, what can I do for someone who needs help?”
We do not want merely to preserve the memory of goodness. We want to turn that memory into new goodness.
New, educated generations
We want to raise new, educated generations who, remembering the help our ancestors received from people of other countries, will feel called to use their knowledge and abilities to help anyone in need, regardless of nation, faith or origin.
We want young people to know those who, in the hardest of times, helped, healed, rescued, protected, taught, created and offered a hand of friendship.
A person may belong to one nation, but a good deed belongs to everyone.
First aim: documented aid to Serbia
One of the key aims of the conference is to compile, on the basis of available historical sources, as complete an overview as possible of all forms of aid given to Serbia during the Great War: military, medical, humanitarian, material, financial, educational and other.
For each country we want to document what aid it gave Serbia, when, to whom, where and on what scale, which institutions and people took part, and which historical documents confirm it.
We have invited the embassies of some thirty allied countries, of countries that were on the other side of the war, of Balkan countries whose fate was similar to Serbia’s, and of some distant, significant states, even though they did not take part directly in the Great War. We follow their response and record it here.
Second, still nobler aim: using history to build a humane future
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Corner of Humanity and Courage
A corner in every school, university and institution that invites visitors to follow the finest examples. -
Park of Cultural Memory
Established in Sjenica as a place of education, research and encounter. -
Declaration of Humanity and Courage
Adopted at the conference on 10 October 2026.
From remembrance to the future
We do not want the past to remain only in archives. We want knowledge to grow from it, available to everyone.
We want to preserve remembrance, to find the truth, and to share knowledge.
Responsibly, not embellished
Our aim is neither to embellish history nor to diminish anyone’s suffering. We research responsibly, with documentation, and with respect for all people.
Sjenica gives the project particular weight: a community with a complex history and different cultural and religious heritages. We believe such a place can become a space where history serves understanding and coexistence rather than division.
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