The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM Vienna) is founding a new institution in Ukraine — INDEX: Institute for Documentation and Exchange.
INDEX is an independent institution that has grown out of the IWM’s decades-long engagement with Ukraine, which since 2015 has included the Ukraine in European Dialogue programme. And in February 2022, the IWM immediately recognised the urgency of supporting Ukrainian intellectuals and cultural figures as they chronicled the Ukrainian experience of Russia's war against Ukraine. Within days of the start of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the IWM had launched the programme Documenting Ukraine.
With the establishment of INDEX — driven by IWM permanent fellows Prof. Timothy Snyder and Dr. Katherine Younger, whose work and dedication have made this ambitious project possible — the IWM is taking a consequential next step. What began as an emergency response initiative will now grow into a durable part of Ukraine’s intellectual and cultural landscape.
Initially, INDEX will focus on facilitating intellectual encounters that span disciplines and geographies and on cultivating innovative approaches to wartime documentation and digital archiving. We recognise, however, that the dynamic situation in Ukraine means that the institute’s operating principles, programmatic focuses, and activities also need to be conceived dynamically. Accordingly, INDEX will evolve in response to the challenges it faces and the opportunities that present themselves, always with the aim of making a lasting contribution to thinking about the future — of Ukraine, of Europe, and of the world.
Based in Lviv, INDEX is committed to close and sustainable collaboration with the many Ukrainian organisations whose goals and activities are in line with its own. In this way, it aims to be a valuable addition to the existing Ukrainian institutional landscape.
As we take this next step, the IWM is grateful to the many partners who have made INDEX possible. Several merit particular mention. The Temerty Foundation has generously supported the IWM’s Ukraine-related programming for a decade, and it is only because of the expertise, networks, and insights gained over that time that INDEX could come to life. The team at the Center for Urban History (Lviv), headed by Dr. Sofia Dyak, have provided invaluable logistical support in the lead-up to INDEX’s establishment. Finally, Dr. Sasha Dovzhyk, whom the IWM will be nominating as INDEX’s inaugural director at the founding assembly, has worked closely with us over the past months to lay the groundwork for this new institution.
