About this project

One of the most iconic images of the Egyptian Revolution is of Egyptians holding up their cell phones or digital cameras to capture images of the astonishing events that unfolded in Cairo and across Egypt in 2011. In the 18 days of the uprising, Egyptians by the thousands did what previous revolutionaries could not do: they documented what was happening, as it was happening, on handheld devices. 

There are thousands of media fragments still on cameras, cell phones and hard drives throughout Egypt. How can we retrieve them all? If we do not act soon, they will be lost and thousands of unique stories—history itself—will disappear. So we need to move! 18 Days in Egypt will launch an all-out effort to collect these personal histories and present them to the world on our interactive website. Here is where we need your help!

18 Days in Egypt stickers!

We have set out to raise at least $18,000 (and more!) in order to fund 20 aspiring or established Egyptian journalists to fan out and collect media and stories from eyewitnesses throughout Cairo. Get involved in this historic project and help us exceed our Kickstarter goal! If we do, we can send our journalists to cities all throughout Egypt such as Luxor, Aswan, Suez, and Alexandria.

The stories we collect will be featured on our 18 Days in Egypt website. 18 Days in Egypt is a pioneering interactive website that will tell the story of the ongoing uprising using the personal media created by Egyptians in the throes of the revolution. We want Egyptians to tell this story themselves, with their footage, their photos, their e-mails, their texts, even their Tweets and Facebook status updates, all created during the revolution and its aftermath. The result will be an interactive documentary where you will be able to experience these moments, these stories, and the characters of the revolution in a thoroughly new way. 

A stream on the 18 Days in Egypt website

Our website introduces the concept of streams: collective narratives composed of social media snippets from multiple contributors. This innovative approach allows for each story to be told from multiple perspectives, giving the viewer an in-depth look at personal moments and events of the Egyptian Revolution. Streams featured on the site already cover a broad range of topics from pictures of protesters’ humorous signs and art inspired by the revolution to women chanting for freedom and songs about the revolutionary struggle. You can also see images that strengthened the resolve of the revolutionaries themselves.

Top streams featured on our site

This is your chance to have a hand in uncovering one of the biggest stories of the young 21st century! Social media captured it. Now let’s preserve it. With your help, 18 Days in Egypt will weave thousands of personal accounts together, highlighting, contextualizing, and safeguarding each person’s unique perspective and moment.