The ‘Unwritten’ project honored for contribution to the culture of remembrance

The volunteer project “Unwritten,” dedicated to literary figures whose lives were cut short by Russia, received the Memorial Action Award 2026 from the Memorial Platform for its significant contribution to the emerging culture of remembrance in Ukraine.

“For us, this award is about responsibility,” a representative of the Unwritten project said. “It’s about preserving the names and works of literary figures who were killed in the Russian-Ukrainian war, and ensuring their presence in culture does not disappear. This award is not about us as individuals, but about our shared work with memory, which continues. The project team and volunteers work with primary sources, verify data, collect texts and biographies, and bring names back into cultural circulation.”

According to Oleksandr Bilinsky, co-founder of the Memorial Platform, a total of 75 initiatives were nominated for the award this year, including non-governmental organizations, families of the deceased, sports and educational communities that implement projects to honor the memory of Ukrainian heroes. The Memorial Action Award was conferred for the first time in 2026.

In addition to Unwritten, nine other initiatives received awards:

• The Master’s dissertation “Memory Studies and Public History,” published by the Kyiv School of Economics;
• The Ilya Hrabar Charitable Foundation;
• The “Among Us” project, which installed memorial plaques dedicated to Ukrainian soldiers, prisoners of war, and those missing in action, implemented by the public organization “Vshanyu.” The ideological inspiration behind the NGO was Iryna Tsybukh, and its co-founder is Kateryna Datsenko;
• The women’s association that creates a culture of memory through action, Community Ulman, founded by Daria Ulman in memory of her husband, Kyrylo Ulman;
• The Protasiv Yar festival held in memory of Roman Ratushny, a community activist and scout with the 93rd Brigade “Kholodny Yar;”
• The Book of Memory project commemorating fallen soldiers;
• The Heroes’ Run, a physical culture and health event dedicated to the memory of Ukraine’s fallen defenders;
• The Plus Plus coffee shop in Kamyanske, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast; and
• Vladyslav Heraskevych’s Helmet of Memory, created by artist Iryna Prots. 

The creators of the project are Olena Herasymiuk, veteran paramedic from Hospitaliers volunteer medical battalion, poet, and public figure; and Eugene Lir, military officer, volunteer, writer, translator, co-founder of the project “Your Underground Humanitarian Aid.” The two collected stories and memories about deceased authors and workers in the literary field so that their voices would not be lost. The project endeavors to create a space for commemorating each of the deceased and ensuring that their contributions to Ukrainian culture are remembered. Herasymiuk and Lir started compiling the list of people killed by Russia in the spring of 2023. As of today, 289 literary figures are listed by the Unwritten volunteer project.

The Memorial Action Award is a distinction given to those who make a significant contribution to creating a new culture of remembrance in Ukraine, introducing effective, ethical, and contemporary commemoration practices, and assuming responsibility for honoring soldiers and civilians killed by Russia during the full-scale invasion.

The award is aimed at accelerating the emergence of new responsible, ethical, and modern forms of remembrance in Ukraine in the context of war, highlighting examples that shape a new culture of commemoration and encourage others to participate in joint memorialization practices. The award will be presented each February and will be awarded without dividing its prize into separate categories.

RELATED: The ‘Unwritten’ project: Russia killed 289 literary figures during the full-scale invasion

Copy editing: Ben Angel