A comprehensive study of the practices of commemoration of fallen heroes of the Russian-Ukrainian war starts
NGO Arts&Rights starts a comprehensive analytical study of the practices of commemoration of the victims of the Russian-Ukrainian war, as a result of which a series of expert discussion panels will be held and a book will be published – "What is to remember". The project "What is to remember" is aimed at deep and comprehensive analysis (cultural, sociological, historical and legal) of politics and existing practices of commemoration of fallen defenders in the Russian-Ukrainian war, as well as establishing a public dialogue on conceptual issues of commemoration as an important component of the formation of civil consciousness and national identity. As a result of the research within the framework of the project, on the basis of expert discussions with stakeholders, a Vision of Remembrance will be formed between all institutions involved in the formation and implementation of a policy of remembrance.'War is an event that leaves a deep wound in our collective consciousness, and how ready we are to work with our memory, turn our pain into our strength, defines our future.' That is why our mission is to create a Vision to commemorate the fallen defenders in cooperation with state institutions, experts and the public and to promote the development of a systematic policy of remembrance, which is based on comprehensive analysis and extensive public discussion," Oksana Ivantsiv, the project's founder says. Commemoration of fallen defenders is extremely important for the formation of national identity and civil society. State institutions that work with remembrance do not have a coherent vision of a national memory policy that would help to move in one direction, to develop and to declare the necessary messages. In Ukrainian society, a limited number of remembrance practices are usually used, which are mostly dummy, butaforic and sometimes even traumatizing. Actually the What is to Remember project will help to find gaps in existing policies of remembrance, to raise and raise publicity in society about this topic, as well as to propose aspects that should be changed. A team of specialists is working on the project, in particular:● Oksana Ivantsiv – "What is to remember" project founder, NGO Arts&Rights head, human rights activist, social and cultural projects manager, documentaries producer. ●Tamara Martsenyuk – Scientific curator of research, Candidate of Sociological Sciences, Kyiv-Mohyla Academy Associate Professor of the Department of Sociology. The field of scientific interests includes military sociology. Co-author of about 5 sociological researches on this topic, a number of scientific articles. ● Vladyslava Osmak – historical and cultural part research coordinator, head of the Cultural and Artistic Center of NaUKMA, a researcher, a guide, a lecturer. The field of research interests is urban space as a common space, in particular, memory in urban space.●Vitaliy Kuzmenko – legal researcher, lawyer, member of the Public Council under the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Earlier, in 2020, the project "What is to remember", in partnership with the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance and the Ministry for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, has already conducted a series of successful discussion panels "Remember for a long time, to speak modernly: how to honor the victims of the Russian-Ukrainian war", "Art and heroization: living person, not pathos myth", "What seven years prevents parliament from adopting a law on military The project "What is to remember" is implemented by NGO Arts&Rights with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.
