IlhaMuseu

The Museum of the North Coast of São Paulo

Abstract

This article presents the participatory process implemented by the UNESCO Brazil in the creation of IlhaMuseu. The IlhaMuseu project is the result of a technical cooperation agreement between UNESCO and the Foundation for Conservation and Forest Production (Fundação Florestal), linked to the Government of the State of São Paulo, promoted by the São Paulo State Prosecutor’s Office with the objective of creating a museum aimed at valuing the cultural and natural heritage of the North Coast of São Paulo and the sustainable relationships and practices of traditional peoples — indigenous, quilombolas and caiçaras — inhabitants of the cities of Ilhabela, São Sebastião, Caraguatatuba and Ubatuba. UNESCO has developed strategies to approach and encourage social participation. The first step was the Participatory Journeys, held in four cities in the region. The second was social listening sessions, held directly in traditional communities, with visits by the project team to indigenous villages, quilombos and caiçara ranches, where conversations were held with community leaders and residents of these territories. And the third, the Territory–Heritage-Community Workshop Cycle, which aimed to involve the region's traditional communities in defining the contents and their expography, musealizing memories and cultures of these communities and their relationships with the biodiversity of the region. It is clear, therefore, that this participatory process of consultation with the traditional peoples of the north coast of São Paulo is a necessary action and an unavoidable path towards the effective implementation and institutionalization of IlhaMuseu in the territory.