LKA participates in international research project on digital documentation of the Ukraine war
Latvian Academy of Culture (LAC) in cooperation with Kharkiv State Academy of Culture (KSAC) launches a two-year research project “War Through the Lens of New Media: Documentation Methods and Challenges in the Post-Digital Era”. This study will employ qualitative research methods to analyse new forms of documenting Russia’s war against Ukraine, as revealed through contemporary media practices. The project will collect and structure the various audiovisual documents, making them accessible to the wider public, and the insights gained during the research will become the basis for further development of educational materials.
Today, the Russian invasion of Ukraine can be observed both on the battlefield and online, where a constant flow of audiovisual material – from drones to smartphone camera footage, photographs and live broadcasts – on the one hand documents and on the other – distorts the events of war. This stream of user-generated content, which is spreading rapidly in new media, is challenging traditional methods of verification and archiving, while offering an unprecedented volume of material for the preservation and study of historical memory.
In response to the growing need to structure and examine this temporally sensitive evidence, the project “War Through the Lens of New Media (…)” aims to analyse and explore the impact of the digital technologies and formats used by the new media on the coverage of the events of the full-scale invasion of Russia. Unlike traditional media, new media encompass modern, digital, and interactive platforms that enable not only the consumption of information but also its creation and dissemination by a broad range of users.
Over a two-year period, the project seeks to develop an open or semi-open digital archive comprising audiovisual materials that document the Russian invasion from the year 2022 and further. By tracing and analysing shifts in technique, style, and thematic focus over time, the study will identify key trends in how new media shape public perception in Ukraine and globally. Particular attention will be paid to representations of conflict and the strategic use of media for manipulation and disinformation. The research findings will serve as the foundation for educational resources and courses designed for students, scholars, and the general public. These materials will promote media literacy and critical thinking, while also supporting the professional development of individuals using new media to document and analyse war-related events.
This project is being implemented within the framework of the Latvian-Ukrainian Joint Program of Scientific and Technological Cooperation, supported by the Latvian Science Council and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. It is a collaborative initiative between the Latvian Academy of Culture and the Kharkiv State Academy of Culture. The project is coordinated by Associate Professor Maija Spuriņa (Institute of Culture and Arts, Latvian Academy of Culture) and Associate Professor Yuliia Kovalenko (Kharkiv State Academy of Culture).
Photo: unsplash.com
More information about the project:
Maija Spuriņa,
Project coordinator at the Latvian Academy of Culture
maija.spurina@lka.edu.lv