“Heroinat” Memorial

The memorial, honors the sacrifice and contribution of all ethnic Albanian women during the 1998-1999 Kosovo War. As we were researching for inspiration, we came across a Human Rights Watch article which states that there are nearly 20,000 Kosovar women that were raped during the Kosovo war of the late 1990s. Most of these war crimes remain untried, and some of the victims still live with those horrifying memories and scars, every day and to this day. We took this tragic number of victims, and transformed it into medals. Medals dedicated to each and every woman’s contribution and sacrifice for this country, no matter what age or occupation. And by these 20,000 medals, the face of the heroine of Kosovo is formed. The portrait reflects values of dignity, dedication, education, care, courage and endurance. This memorial won the famous Golden A’ Design Award at Architecture, Building and Structure Design Competition highlighted as the winner by the international judges of the A’ Design Awards & Competitions among thousands of designs. Also, the face of the Heroines of Kosovo has been chosen to be the representative face for the latest UN publication of the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict. We are thrilled beyond words, which our work, in the smallest amount possible, is helping on shedding light for the fate of these anonymous heroines worldwide.