Preserving Cultural Heritage in Times of War | CU Experts

Overview

The Russian invasion in Ukraine February 24, 2022, activated a new expression of international community action and crowdsourcing. Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online (SUCHO) was launched by three digital humanities librarians to rescue data and back up digital objects belonging to cultural institutions in Ukraine. Its overwhelming success can serve as a model for librarians and activists responding to future conflicts. In this article, I explore the genesis of SUCHO and other large-impact data rescue projects. I examine the role of affinity and personal connection to this work, positioning the public response and rescue efforts to the war in Ukraine against the 2011 war in Syria and the 2023 war between Israel and Gaza. I advocate for structured data rescue teams within professional organizations as a counterbalance to the extreme role affinity has on the initiation and success of such projects.