A home for living heritage, governed by the people who carry it
FirstCiv is a consent-first archive of living cultural heritage — songs, languages, crafts and stories — published only with the documented consent of the people they come from, and taken down whenever that consent is withdrawn.
Why this archive exists
Much of the world's heritage lives in breath, hands and memory: a song taught by one grandmother, a weaving pattern, a word with no written form. When the last person who holds it is gone, it goes with them. The older way of saving it was extraction — outsiders recorded, institutions kept, and communities lost control of their own memory.
FirstCiv is built to do that work the other way around. Communities decide what is recorded, who may see it and how it may be used. Every contribution is reviewed by a person before it appears. Consent stays revocable for as long as the material exists.
Who is behind FirstCiv
FirstCiv was founded by Maksym Stepanenko in Ottawa, Canada, who designed and built the platform. We are outsiders to the cultures presented here, and we say so plainly: the archive exists to hold what communities choose to share, on their terms.
FirstCiv is operated by INNOVA CONSULT LTD., a federal Canadian corporation (Canada Business Corporations Act, corporation number 1522612-1) based in Ottawa, Ontario. Its founder and director is Maksym Stepanenko. FirstCiv has received no grant or investment so far. Where a fund requires a non-profit or Indigenous-led applicant, FirstCiv takes part as a partner, and the lead organisation holds the grant.
What exists today
22 reference culture editions in four languages
LiveBuilt from openly-licensed sources with attribution, in English, Spanish, Russian and French. Each one is labelled as a reference edition and is open for its community to claim, correct or remove.
Consent-first contribution intake
LiveA contributor records who may see a recording and which uses are allowed. Nothing is published until a person has reviewed it. Contribute a recording.
Withdrawal and takedown
LiveConsent can be withdrawn at any time; withdrawal unpublishes the material and its media. Corrections and takedowns can be requested through the contact page.
A public record of decisions
LiveEvery moderation decision is written to a tamper-evident, hash-chained ledger that anyone can inspect at /api/ledger.
Community claims
LiveA community or its representatives can ask to claim and govern their culture's page through For communities.
A first community partnership
In progressNo community has claimed a page yet. Finding the first partner, and letting them lead, is the next step for the project.
A compensated Indigenous advisory circle
PlannedTo review our policies before the contribution pipeline is scaled.
How we work
Our rules are public and specific. Governance sets out who decides what. The data sovereignty policy maps our practice to the CARE Principles and to OCAP®, including the parts we cannot deliver yet. The manifesto explains why.