97: DATTALION: How Ukrainian women are collaborating to capture stories of war for posterity: Dina Nemyrovych

Shownotes: TRIGGER WARNING:  I have mental fatigue because I live between two countries, I feel unsettled, cannot plan too far into the future and there is a constant sense of restlessness, a journey not completed……..But, all of this I do out of choice (difficult though it may be). This is not about me but about perspective. Most of us cannot even being to fathom the personal cost, the emotional and mental stress, the economic, social, physical cost of a never ending war forced upon peaceful people. What does it mean to not have any control over your life, not have the ability to look after yourself, your children, your elderly parents, your friends or plan for the future?  It has been 1 year, 2 months and 3 weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine….During that period 8 million Ukrainians have registered as refugees in Europe; 5.3 million Ukrainians have displaced internally; Over 5 million children have been displaced by the war; And millions of men separated from their families……….. In the midst of this tragedy, uncertainty and strife, there are people who are trying to get on with their lives, wherever they are. One such person is Dina Nemyrovych. I met Dina Nemyrovych at the @ICCO Conference in Dubai last year where she spoke passionately about the war in Ukraine, its impact on Ukrainians (including her and her family) and the work being done by millions of Ukrainians to support the effort. Over the past couple of months Dina Nemyrovych and I have been in conversation on how I (as an individual) or the industry could support them in the difficult work they have been doing.  The podcast is a first step to embarking on a journey to creating awareness about the scale of the task at hand. In a frank and often emotional chat Dina Nemyrovych spoke about DATTALION - a project founded and run by Ukrainian women. The project is supported by international volunteers and is focused on collating authentic, verifiable war footage. The idea is to collect and store evidence of war crimes, environmental crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of genocide. “DATTALION is home to the largest free and independent open source database of Ukraine war footage as well as the database of verified eyewitness to the horrors of Russia’s invasion.” We also spoke about the impact of the war on her and the family; the vision for DATTALION the challenges to running a volunteer led organisation, working in difficult circumstances; #mentalhealth health, staying resolute, what we can do to support DATTALION and Ukraine. For the future there are plans to help capture the stories of Ukrainian women, whose lives have been roiled by the war - to create for posterity records of the impact of conflict, war. If you would like to learn more and support the efforts: visit the DATTALION website, Donate and listen to the podcast (Link in comments)