The Workhop
The Leibniz Institute of European History (IEG), along with members of the research consortium “LivArch - Documenting Russia’s war against Ukraine: The challenges of living archives for historical knowledge production” are happy to introduce the IEG LivArch Workshop. This event aims to create a thorough scholarly dialogue focusing on the extensive archival collection pertaining to the ongoing war in Ukraine and the worldwide impact of such digital archiving phenomena. The workshop will feature discussions with scholars in the emerging field of rapid response digital archives and leaders currently engaged in documenting the war in Ukraine. Consequently, we foresee an opportunity for participants to not only better grasp the various facets of this scenario but also enhance acquaintance among themselves and explore potential collaborative endeavors. Having this opportunity after discussing the varied levels of importance of digital archiving in Ukraine, we believe, will establish a solid foundation for participants to comprehend the many layers of importance of the subject matter. This, in turn, will enable more qualitative debates on specific aspects in future workshops and meetings within LivArch and beyond, on topics such as digital preservation, addressing sensitive pasts, and metadata standardization, among others.
Program
10:00 – Onboarding
Speakers:
Johannes Paulmann (IEG) – Greetings from the IEG
Peter Haslinger (Herder Institute) – Greetings from the Herder Institute
Ian Marino (IEG) – Introduction and general information to the event
10:20-12:15 - Session 1: Monitoring digital archives in Ukraine
Summary: This session will focus on the broad spectrum of Ukrainian digital archives created to collect, preserve, and display records about Russia’s war against Ukraine since 2022. Among the topics we intend to discuss are the challenges and solutions for monitoring multiple digital archiving initiatives; approaches to the use of social media platforms as forms of communication and archival representation in the context of the war; and the various applications of computational methodologies to collect and preserve data and cultural heritage in functional and ethical ways.
Speakers:
Taras Nazaruk (Lviv Center for Urban History)
Miglė Bareikytė (European University Viadrina)
Tugce Karatas (Luxembourg Center for Contemporary and Digital History - C²DH)
Maksym Demydenko (Ukraine War Archive)
Moderator:
Tabitha Redepenning (Herder Institute)
12:15-13:15 – Lunch break
13:15-14:45 – Session 2: The experience of archiving the war in Ukraine
Summary: This session will provide an overview of the process involved in archiving records related to the war in Ukraine, drawing upon the experiences of individuals actively engaged in projects focused on collecting testimonies and other types of records in the context of the conflict. The session will allow us to discuss aspects such as motivations, choices, challenges, outcomes, and lessons learned from creating digital archives amid the war. Therefore, it will address both the sensitivities surrounding this phenomenon and the conceptual and practical challenges of creating comprehensive archives during a time of conflict.
Speakers:
Natalia Otrishchenko (Lviv Center for Urban History)
Svitlana Osipchuk (War Childhood Museum)
Nataliia Gladkova (Ukrainian Archive)
Moderator:
Ian Marino (IEG)
14:45-15:00 – Coffee break
15:00-16:30 – Session 3: A global phenomenon?
Summary: This session will provide macro-level reflections based on the experience of “living archives” related to the war in Ukraine. It explores the possibility that the Ukrainian archiving scenario is part of a global phenomenon with its own historical context, involving various scenarios in which individuals have fought to create archives of catastrophic events using digital tools in real time. Additionally, this session will facilitate a discussion on the challenges of making sense of the multiplicity and diversity of projects that have been archiving the context of the war in Ukraine, covering topics such as metadata and the development of reliable digital preservation strategies.
Speakers:
Mills Kelly (Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media)
Machteld Venken (Luxembourg Center for Contemporary and Digital History - C²DH)
Moderator:
Thorsten Wübbena (IEG)
16:45-17:00 – Closing thoughts
Speaker:
Ian Marino (IEG)
Concept and workshop organisation
Ian Marino (IEG)
Tabitha Redepenning (Herder Institute)
Thorsten Wübbena (IEG)
Contact
digital@ieg-mainz.de
