The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland and a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signatories) to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 (Protocol I, Protocol II) and 2005 have given the ICRC a mandate to protect victims of international and internal armed conflicts. Such victims include war wounded, prisoners, refugees, civilians, and other non-combatants.

The ICRC is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement along with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and 190 National Societies. It is the oldest and most honoured organization within the Movement and one of the most widely recognized organizations in the world, having won three Nobel Peace Prizes in 1917, 1944, and 1963.

History

Solferino, Henry Dunant and the foundation of ICRC

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum is a museum located in Geneva (Switzerland).

It first opened in 1988 and underwent a significant renovation in from 2011 to 2013.

The exhibition named “The Humanitarian Adventure” presents three contemporary problems through three distinct spaces; each created by a different architect: Defending human dignity (Gringo Cardia, Brazil), Reconstructing family links (Diébédo Francis Kéré, Burkina Faso ), Reducing natural risks (Shigeru Ban, Japan).

Although it gives pride of place to knowledge and reflection, the museography introduces a new dimension into its device: emotion. As they enter each of the three thematic areas, visitors are invited to engage in an awareness-building experience even before they discover the area’s informational content.

Twelve witnesses trace the main thread of “The Humanitarian Adventure”. They first welcome visitors in a scenographic device and then accompany them on their tour of the exhibition. The witnesses are there to remind us that human relations are at the heart of all humanitarian action.