NEWS

Memorandum of understanding

The Associação de Amigos do Memorial do Imigrante – AAMI – A Social Organization, approved by the government of the State of São Paulo, contracted on 09/2005 to manage the Memorial do Imigrante, an institutional museum belonging to the Secretaria de Estado da Cultura of the State of São Paulo, the registered office of which is in Rua Visconde de Parnaíba, 1316, São Paulo, Brazil and legally represented by the Executive Director, Ana Maria da Costa Leitão Vieira, and the Centro Internazionale di Studi sull’Emigrazione Italiana– CISEI, the registered office of which is in Piazza della Commenda, no. 1, Genoa, Italy, stipulate the following memorandum of understanding with the aim of carrying out projects of mutual interest for the valorisation and diffusion of the history of Italian emigration in Brazil.

  1. The Memorial do Imigrante which 
  • is an institutional museum, which collects, preserves, documents and disseminates a specific historical/cultural archive on the history of emigration in the State of São Paulo;
  • has the cultural policy of being a reference point for the history of immigration in Brazil;
  • has an archive of official documents from the departments that managed migratory policy in the State of São Paulo, especially: Livros de Registro de Entrada de Imigrantes in the ancient Hospedaria dos Imigrantes; Processos Terras, Imigração e Colonização; passports, letters; records from the Registro de estrangeiros da Superintendência Regional do Departamento de Policia Federal em São Paulo;
  • considers the need to create a structural rapport between the Memorial do Imigrante and academic institutions of Genoa and Italy a priority;
  • aims to create a permanent exchange of information among Museums, Foundations and Centres that study the history of migrations, in the regions of origin, of immigrants in Brazil;
  • accepts that Italian immigration represents the largest contingent of immigrants in Brazil;

and

  1. CISEI which  
  •  is a research centre that aims to make the history if Italian emigration departing from the Port of Genoa into a heritage which is shared and accessible to all, and consequently, has elaborated a project called Piano Archivi;
  •  aims – with the above mentioned Piano Archivi – to share and confront research carried out on local sources (ship registers, passports, etc.) with research carried out by museums/research centres in the host countries;
  • aims to initiate research with regards to Brazil, given that in over a century a relevant amount of emigrants departing from Italy, and the port of Genoa in particular, chose that country as a destination of privilege;

Hereby agree:

I – to develop research of mutual interest to both institutions with the aim of consolidating the heritage of common knowledge and promoting scientific publications.

II – to facilitate researcher access to the archives and databases belonging to both institutions.

III – that the Memorial do Imigrante will make its database of emigrant entry registers available to CISEI for exclusive use according to the following provisions:

a) to CISEI researchers, abiding by the specifications set out by the Memorial do Imigrante;

b) as a reference archive to orientate the public, who will not be allowed to have direct access to the database.

IV - that CISEI will be able to sponsor grants for study travel for Brazilian researchers indicated by the Memorial do Imigrante at CISEI in Genoa or other institutions that preserve archives on Italian emigration.

V – that, in case of reciprocal interest, the two institutions will together be able to sponsor research at the Memorial do Imigrante archives carried out by Brazilian researchers and whose results will be supplied to both sponsors.

VI – to take care of the exchange of itinerant exhibitions organised for the respective institutions.

VII – to organise other activities of mutual interest.

Pursuant to the provisions set forth in this MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING, the two institutions will sign, for every initiative of mutual interest, a detailed proposal with specific aims, which will define the proportions of contributions and responsibilities assigned to each party.
 
This MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT has been signed in six originals, each text being equally authoritative.

Rome, 26 October 2007.

Signed

Associação de Amigos do Memorial do Imigrante – AAMI
Memorial do Imigrante de São Paulo

Centro Internazionale di Studi sull’Emigrazione Italiana
CISEI