Press release

South Asian Canadian Legacy Projects Expanding its archives

The South Asian Canadian Legacy Projects is looking to expand its archives by collaborating with individuals and community archives.

DATELINE: Vancouver, BC – March 13, 2024

We at the South Asian Canadian Legacy Projects would like to offer the opportunity to everyone who would like to join us in expanding our archives. Thanks to the Provincial government’s support, we have gained improved our ability to maintain some of these memories. Many fragments of history have been lost to time, but they could be inside a box in a random closet at home or even in an album you received from a family member. We would like to offer help to preserve these stories and legacies so they can be told to future generations.

“Those who are leaving things in archives are those who have an eye to how they will be understood when people in the future look back upon them,” said University of British Columbia Associate Professor of History Henry Yu, “That’s what’s so interesting about archives, it’s what’s so interesting about history because it’s always about the future.”

It has always been a very popular hobby for people to collect old photographs, posters, signs, and much more, however, it can be challenging to maintain that collection as individual items have different needs. Trying to find someone else to look after your stuff can also be a pretty big challenge. We would like to offer our help in maintaining these relics that many hold so dear. To help spread these stories we would also like to display them to the public and upload them to social media, with user permission of course.

Many stories haven’t been told yet that we believe can only be learned through some of these physical forms. There are a lot of people who upload old images, maps, pamphlets, etc. onto social media, however, a digital form is never a guarantee. We believe that we must maintain physical formats so future generations can come and see them.

The South Asian Canadian Legacy Project was founded in April 2020 by Dr. Satwinder Kaur Bains. Our main objective is to help promote and preserve the legacies of Asian people that helped form the roots of Canada since the country’s founding. With the help of the University of Fraser Valley, we have successfully managed to promote and conserve the contributions of various Asian groups in BC.

 CONTACT INFORMATION: For more information, contact Pedro Mori, Communications team member, (pedro.isao@gmail.com).