Dissemination
Open lecture on the preservation of sound documents to take place on May 11
On May 11, 2026, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., the Open Lecture “Archives – Evidence and Creativity – Sound Memory” will be held, led by Pedro Félix and Paulo Lourenço. The event will take place online via the Teams platform, within the scope of the course Digital and Analogue Archives, part of the Master’s in Creative Processes at the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences of the University of Algarve.
The International Council on Archives (ICA) highlights that archives encompass all types of records, regardless of their format, and that their preservation is essential to ensure memory, evidence, and access. Among the main formats considered are textual, digital, photographic, and audiovisual records—each requiring specific methods of preservation, description, and access to ensure their continuity and usefulness over time.
Since it became possible to record sound documents, there has been a concern with their preservation and authenticity. This lecture will address key turning points in this nearly 150-year history, emphasizing the importance (and diversity) of these documents, as well as highlighting essential practices for their preservation.
Pedro Félix is the coordinator of the implementation team for the National Sound Museum. He is a member of the Institute of Ethnomusicology and the Institute of Contemporary History at NOVA University Lisbon. He was part of the team responsible for the nomination of Fado as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, coordinating fieldwork and phonographic inventory. He also coordinated the digitisation programme of the Fado Museum’s collection and conceived and led the European project HeritaMus on digital curation of musical heritage. He has collaborated with archives and institutions in the organisation, digitisation, and processing of sound collections, and has developed extensive research on sound archives and sound heritage, with numerous scientific publications and contributions to the Encyclopaedia of Music in Portugal in the 20th Century. He is an active member of the International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (IASA), where he currently serves as Secretary-General and Chair of the Ambassadors Committee.
Paulo Lourenço holds a degree in History from the University of Évora, a postgraduate qualification in Documentary Sciences (Archives), a Master’s degree in Business Management from the University of Algarve, and advanced training in public management and leadership. He has been Director of the Faro District Archive since 2021. With over twenty years of experience in information management, records appraisal, archival description, and administrative modernisation, he has held specialised technical roles at the Faro District Archive and served as head of division at the Municipality of Silves. He has also coordinated training initiatives and international cooperation projects, namely at the National Archive of Angola. He is a Guest Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Algarve, contributing to the teaching of the course Customer Relationship Management in the Master’s in Marketing Management.
Access the online session (here).
Meeting ID: 385 345 037 807 356
Access code: nq3mm6iA
Esta publicação também está disponível em: Portuguese (Portugal)