The Institute for Peace and Common Ground is implementing the project “Trauma-Sensitive and Inclusive Memorialization in Ukraine,” aimed at researching global, national, and local memorialization practices.

During the implementation of the Project, a platform will be created that will serve as a venue for expert groups working on analysis and conducting workshops to develop recommendations and examples of memorialization.

The war in Ukraine has been ongoing for ten years, and despite the continued fighting, it is essential to understand now how we will remember these horrific events. It is crucial to identify which historical moments and lessons should become an integral part of our memory to serve as a foundation for the stabilization and cohesion of the country in the future. The importance of memorialization lies not just in recording crimes and tragedies but in reinterpreting and preserving them in memory.

To ensure that we have learned the lessons of this war, it is necessary to engrave the experienced events and significant losses in our collective memory.

It is important for society to openly discuss the losses during the war. This allows those affected not to feel abandoned and to find support. It is essential to understand that such discussions, while reminding us of the war’s brutality, do not immerse us in perpetual mourning; instead, they make us stronger, fostering a cohesive society ready to “stand firm” and honor the memory of the fallen with dignity. Let our memory be a guarantee against future tragedies.

Memorialization is a way to preserve history and significant events for future generations. The process of creating a monument, memorial plaque, museum, or other object that marks and honors a particular event or idea helps keep them in people’s memory for the future.

The goal of our Project is to create a platform where expert groups will work together to research practices and needs. We propose to study global practices of memorialization, adapt and implement them in the Ukrainian context.

Our task is also to collect and analyze the best existing practices of memorialization to create recommendations for trauma-sensitive memorialization methods that can be applied in our reality. This will form the basis for creating national policies that consider the trauma of our society.