INDEX Fellowship Program for Active Servicemembers

The INDEX Fellowship Program for Active Servicemembers is a unique initiative created to preserve and reflect upon the experience of the Russian-Ukrainian war directly through the voices of those serving inside the Defense Forces. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, a vast number of professionals from civilian fields—researchers, journalists, artists—have joined the army, bringing with them powerful skills in observation, analysis, and storytelling.

However, due to the constant execution of combat missions and the inability to leave the service to participate in classic art residencies, their testimonies risk remaining undocumented. Often, such experiences are filtered or distorted through the lens of external, civilian observers who only see the military routine episodically.

This project, which is a logical continuation of the successful INDEX Veteran Program, aims to solve this problem. It is specifically designed to provide servicemembers with the necessary resources, time, and professional mentoring support to create deep documentary works directly while on duty. The program helps authors formally transform their unique personal experiences into significant cultural and historical artifacts.

Participation is open exclusively to individuals who are currently serving in the Defense Forces of Ukraine at the time of application and during the program. The program is designed for servicemembers who possess the following expertise in their civilian life (or directly in the military):

• Media professionals (journalists, reporters, photographers).
• Creative professionals (artists, writers, poets, filmmakers).
• Researchers in the humanities and social sciences.

• Direct financial support: Each of the two selected participants (one male and one female) will receive a monthly fellowship of 1,300 EUR. Payments will be made over two months (totaling 2,600 EUR) in the hryvnia equivalent.
• Non-financial support and services:
  • Opportunity for physical and psychological recovery (sports, psychotherapy) with recommended specialists and specialized institutions.
  • Organizational and technical support in preparing presentations, publications, exhibitions, and other public results of the work.
  • Provision of expert consultations and remote mentoring, fully adapted to the specifics and needs of each fellow's project.
  • Media partnerships to promote the works and present them to a wider audience.

• Creation of individual documentary projects in any genre (text, visual, cinema, theater) focusing on the experiences of Russia's war against Ukraine.
• Documenting everyday army experiences, observation, analysis, and storytelling from the perspective of an active servicemember.
• Remote interaction with experts and mentors to refine the work.
• Undergoing recovery courses (psychotherapy, sports) in parallel with creative work.

The program has a clear two-month implementation cycle and a fast selection stage:

1. October 12, 2026: Deadline for submitting online applications.
2. October 16, 2026: The program curator will contact the pre-selected candidates. At this stage, participants must confirm their readiness to participate and provide a document verifying their military service.
3. October 17, 2026 (end of the day): Deadline for the final confirmation decision from the winners.
4. October 18, 2026: In the absence of confirmation from the winner, the fellowship automatically passes to the next candidate on the ranking list.
5. November 1 – December 31, 2026: The actual period of the Fellowship Program (remote work on projects, mentoring, recovery).

1. Preparation: Write a motivation letter, develop a one-page proposal for your future documentary project, and update your professional resume (CV).
2. Submission: Fill out a short online questionnaire via Google Forms at https://forms.gle/Esit54WksK5KB8ZV6, attaching the prepared documents. Applications are accepted until October 12, 2026.
3. Coordination: If necessary, participants must independently coordinate their participation in the fellowship program with their direct command, taking into account that project work will be combined with military service.

• Selection is carried out by a special committee, which includes INDEX leaders, veterans, cultural managers, and researchers.
• The committee will evaluate the submitted one-page project proposals, motivation, and previous professional experience of the applicant (based on the CV).
• Special attention will be paid to the author's ability to convey a unique internal experience: the transformation of a civilian into a military person, the daily routine of military life, relationships within the unit, and the social diversity of the army. A deep, non-stereotypical perspective, inaccessible to external observers, is expected.
• The program guarantees gender balance: exactly one male and one female participant will be selected based on the competition results.

To participate in the first selection stage via the online form, only three documents need to be submitted:

1. Motivation letter (an explanation of why this fellowship is important to you right now).
2. One-page project proposal (a description of the documentary idea you plan to develop over the two months).
3. CV (a professional resume detailing your creative, scientific, or media experience).

Note: A document confirming military service is not required at the application stage. It will only need to be provided if you pass the selection (on October 16).

• Requirements for results: Upon completion of the two-month fellowship, participants are obliged to submit a draft of a new documentary work. This can be a manuscript of a book chapter, an article, an essay, an exhibition concept, a visual art piece, a photo series, a libretto, a poetry collection, or a script.
• Reflection: Additionally, participants must write an essay or a column for the INDEX Narysy magazine, reflecting on their experience participating in this fellowship program.
• Security compliance: The organizers emphasize that participants are strictly not required to disclose classified information, locations, or any sensitive data that could pose risks to their safety or the safety of their unit.
• Service discipline: Participation in the program does not exempt servicemembers from performing their direct military duties. All activities can take place entirely remotely.

• Service status and subordination: Participation in the program does not alter the legal status of the participants as military personnel. The program does not provide for leaves, official deployments, or exemption from executing commanders' orders. Participants bear personal disciplinary responsibility for coordinating their participation with the command (if internal unit rules require it) and for balancing creative activities with the performance of official duties.
• Documentary confirmation of status: The competition winners are legally obliged to provide an official document confirming their active military service in the Defense Forces of Ukraine. Failure to provide such a document will result in the cancellation of the selection results and the transfer of the fellowship to another candidate.
• Information security and state secrets: The organizer (INDEX) legally stipulates that participants are neither required nor expected to disclose any information constituting a state or military secret. Participants bear full personal responsibility for compliance with Ukrainian laws on the protection of state secrets, the rules of information dissemination under martial law (in particular, regarding geolocations, troop movements, casualties, etc.), and the non-disclosure of sensitive data that could endanger themselves or their comrades.
• Remote format: By default, all program activities (mentoring, consultations, creation of the work) take place remotely, which legally precludes any requirement for the participant's mandatory physical presence at the organization's events while on duty.
• Rights to the created product: Organizers expect participants to create a draft of the work and publish an essay for the INDEX Narysy magazine. Detailed conditions regarding copyright, publication licenses, and the use of materials in media partnerships will be regulated by additional individual agreements (fellowship contracts) with the winners.