Identity and Representation: Social Justice and Community Building Through The Museums Of The Person

The Museum of the Person is an initiative that emerged in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1991, aiming at building a virtual museum whose collection includes life stories of all and every person in society. To be a virtual museum developed as a network has been the Museum of the Person's postulate from the start. The 1997 advent of the Internet provided the idea with the tool needed for its expansion. Since then the Museum of the Person has been open to receive stories, documents, photographs and other data through the Internet (www.museudapessoa.net). The presentation of that idea at the MW1999 in New Orleans inspired the creation of the Museum of the Person in Portugal (www.bloomington.in.us/~mop-i/index) and another one related to the Centre d'histoire de Montréal, Canada (www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/chm/chm.htm). Each center independently carries out on-line and off-line activities, and each has distinct experiences. During the session, from the viewpoint of those issues, the distinct experiences will be presented and the audience will be invited to take part, further discussing the issues and/or suggesting new ideas.