The war between Russia and Ukraine firmly locates major challenges relating to heritage, society and ethics in areas of armed conflict in the heart of Europe. DECOPE investigates how care is mobilised for cultural heritage in this context, identifying the challenges, impacts and effects of local, national and international responses.
DECOPE investigates how support for cultural heritage has been mobilised in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, assessing how interventions framed as protection, rescue and reconstruction reach local heritage communities and mediate how care is enacted on the ground.
Through online and face-to-face documentary and qualitative social research, we work with museum and heritage professionals and others, both inside and outside of Ukraine, to understand how they have mobilised to mitigate damage to both the heritage they manage, and their professional lives.
The study provides a prism for exploring how international, EU and national actors’ networks, narratives and resources intersect with those of non-state and local actors identifying barriers, bottlenecks and constraints to collaboration and distribution of funding and support. The aim is to produce guidance and resources to create more effective and sustainable collaboration between international and national organisations and those heritage professionals, NGOs and lay communities working ‘on the ground’.
