First Days Project

In 2013 the South Asian American Digital Archive (saada) launched the First Days Project, a multimedia Web site geared toward assembling and circulating immigrants' recollections of their first moments in the United States. Their goal of “collecting stories from anyone who has a story of arrival in the United States” emphasizes the commonalities and differences among immigrants. To do this, saada uses a variety of digital tools to maximize the number of stories collected and to promote audience interaction. saada's use of technology combined with established oral history practices is a provocative way of viewing the immigrant experience. The First Days Project builds on saada's ability to curate multimedia collections originally established at https://www.saada.org, which addresses the lack of digital archives focused on South Asian Americans. The First Days Project shifts away from saada's regional focus to one tied to the experiences of immigrants from across the world. Stories are collected in many ways. The public can upload their stories or can volunteer to interview someone. Partner organizations have also contributed oral histories. Stories are posted in three possible media—videos, audio recordings, or written documents. Audio files and written documents are uploaded; videos are housed on Vimeo or YouTube and are hyperlinked. The site also has an option for visitors to share interviews on Facebook and Twitter

History