The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) announced, on 4/11, the insertion of Carlos Chagas archive in the Memory of the World International Register. The announcement, which recognizes the historical and scientific value of the Brazilian physician and health worker's collection, comes close to World Chagas Disease Day, celebrated on Monday (4/14). The discovery of the complete cycle of the disease, in 1909, was due to the research conducted by the scientist.
Since 2008, the set that documents Chagas' professional and public trajectory has been part of the Memory of the World Program, at national and regional levels, the latter related to Latin America and the Caribbean. Now, the archive becomes part of the distinct group of 11 Brazilian documents or funds with the seal of the International Register of Unesco. A quite symbolic deed, given the current global relevance of Chagas Disease as a public health problem.
Under the custody of Fiocruz, through Casa de Oswaldo Cruz, the archive, available at Base Arch, brings together hundreds of documents that cross not only the trajectory of the scientist, but also the history of public health in Brazil, and the first efforts to institutionalize science in the country. These are correspondence, manuscripts of scientific articles, reports of medical expeditions, photographic records and administrative materials produced throughout his work at Instituto Oswaldo Cruz and the National Department of Public Health (DNSP), among other activities.
For Aline Lacerda, advisor to the Deputy Board of Cultural Heritage and Scientific Dissemination of Casa de Oswaldo Cruz, and organizer of the application dossier, one of the greatest risks to which a collection is exposed is invisibility. The historian explains that the national, regional and, now, international seals, to which the Carlos Chagas Fund is entitled, ultimately contribute to its preservation: "This recognition triggers counterparts, which promote more visibility and, consequently, more resources for its safeguarding".
Aline also evaluates the impact of this record for Casa de Oswaldo Cruz and Fiocruz: “[The seal] also values the work of an institution, which has under its custody several sets of its cultural collection recognized as valuable to humanity.
In this scenario, Fiocruz, through Casa de Oswaldo Cruz, plays a strategic role as guardian of another documentary heritage. The institution, which already stands out for its excellence in scientific research and for its performance in public health, strengthens, with this international recognition, its cultural and educational dimension. By investing in the preservation, digitization, dissemination and public access to its collections, Fiocruz reaffirms its commitment to knowledge, democracy and the right to memory.
International Registration of the Memory of the World Program
Created in 1992, Unesco’s Memory of the World Program aims to preserve the documentary heritage of humanity, promoting its protection against oblivion, deterioration and destruction. It is a legitimating instance, which recognizes and guarantees value to collections, triggering, in this process, several categories of specialists to analyze the applications.
International register is limited and highly selective and the archives inscribed therein are considered world documentary heritage. It is a higher level of recognition, granted to collections that have exceptional universal value, that is, their relevance goes beyond national borders and concerns the collective memory of humanity.
More than a prestigious seal, the inclusion of Carlos Chagas archive in the International Register of Unesco represents a call to Brazilian society: it is necessary to recognize the value of science not only in the laboratory, but also in history. Valuing their memory is also a way to project a future with more health, justice and citizenship.