São Gonçalo do Amarante Memory Center - Brazil

EDP was one of the entities that sponsored the creation of a Memory Nucleus of São Gonçalo do Amarante, whose mission is to collect, preserve and disseminate the life stories of the inhabitants of this region.

Change the way we see the world

EDP supported the creation of the São Gonçalo do Amarante Memory Center in Brazil, with the objective of promoting local actions of collection, preservation and dissemination of life stories, in a collaborative perspective, creating an unprecedented collection of stories that became part of a virtual collection and a podcast series, "Voz, História e Vida", with five episodes.

Check out the results of this work in partnership with EDP here.

Genesis of the project

At the end of 2013, Companhia Siderúrgica do Pecém (CSP), with a view to promoting local sustainable development, launched the Interagir Program - Strategic Integration for Regional Management and Investment, with the mission of developing the regions of São Gonçalo do Amarante and Caucaia, namely through the capture and implementation of socio-economic projects.

It is in this context that the Action for Appreciation of the History and Popular Culture of São Gonçalo do Amarante and Caucaia was born in 2014, integrated in the plan of actions for social mitigation, due to the implementation of the Pecém Industrial and Port Complex (CIPP), in the state of Ceará. 

This is also the origin of the Cultural Enhancement Project, which consisted of interviews and storytelling with the residents of the two municipalities. From the different narratives emerged common points and preserved cultural heritages and popular wisdom.

Methodology 

According to the methodology adopted by the Museu da Pessoa, this project, which lasted 11 months, was structured according to the following phases:

1. Training and mentoring of 3 representatives from 8 local cultural organizations;

2. Collection, preservation and dissemination: each institution conducted 2 interviews with inhabitants of São Gonçalo (a total of 16 interviews), which were later integrated in the virtual collection of the Museu da Pessoa; 

3. Development of the São Gonçalo do Amarante Memory Center. 

The Person Museum 

Founded in 1991, this virtual and collaborative museum is made up of life stories and is open to the participation of anyone who wants to tell their story, organize their own collections and get to know the stories of people of all ages, races, creeds and professions in Brazil. 

The project was born from the conviction that telling, listening, learning, and preserving life stories can change the way we see the world.