When documenting and archiving the consequences of Russia's war against Ukraine, many controversial issues arise at the intersection of research, scholarship, law, vision, and personal experience.
In 2024, we continued the symposium “The Most Documented War” which was launched last year. In order to facilitate dialogue, exchange, and cooperation, the symposium gathered initiatives and individuals chronicling Russia’s war against Ukraine.
In cooperation with the Center for Urban History in Lviv and the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, INDEX managed to bring together dozens of people from around the world, including academics, journalists, activists, historians, lawyers, and creatives.
The symposium focused on the ethics and practice of international collaborations.
Topics discussed by the participants during the panels included:
What is the epistemological value of emotions in the documentation of Russia's war against Ukraine? How does our geographical and cultural positioning as well as our gender and nationality affect the way knowledge about the war is produced?
What is the role of real and imagined borders and lines of demarcation in war documentation? To what extent do our bodies determine our opportunities for movement – inside and outside the country? How do our positions affect our daily practices of data collecting and interpretation?
What does it mean to challenge the dominant frameworks of resource distribution in our documentation work? What diverse roles can institutional as well as individual actors play, in the present moment and in the long run?
What do we need to understand about technology to make the archives of war accessible, usable, and sustainable? Where will the collected data be stored? Who will organise it and by what standards?
Documenting war occurs at the intersection of many legal fields. What is the general legal framework? Do we need to protect personal data and copyright? How to turn collected materials into evidence?
How does decision-making in international cooperations reflect injustices in knowledge production and distribution? When making decisions under the conditions of radical injustice and suffering, how can we push for change and enact solidarity through our modes of collaboration?
On the third day of the symposium, several experts conducted workshops for the participants. The workshops focused on the cross-purpose usage of visual documentation, ethical and legal documentation and data sharing, challenges of interviewing witnesses of occupation, capturing reliable and relevant video documentation as well as challenges and approaches to seeking financial support of documentation activities.
An important event of the symposium was the presentation of the book series “Stories of War,” which developed from the cooperation between INDEX and the Center for Urban History. It was designed as a collective and long-term reflection on how the experience of war is recorded, preserved, transmitted, and comprehended.
We are grateful to everyone who participated in the symposium. More detailed information about the symposium will follow soon.
Our Partners:
Center for Governance and Culture in Europe, University of St. Gallen
Ukraine War Archive
СERCEC / EHESS, Paris
LivArch / Herder-Institute
The Virtual Ukraine Institute for Advanced Study (VUIAS)
Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group
Jam Factory Art Center
Suspilne. Kultura
