The COVID-19 Pandemic Digital Memorial completed its Phase I with results that consolidated the initiative as a public infrastructure for preserving, organizing, and providing access to memories of the pandemic in Brazil. Developed through cooperation between Brazil’s Ministry of Health, BIREME/PAHO/WHO, and the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp), the project progressed from technical and institutional preparation to the public launch of the Portal, accompanied by the expansion of collections, the strengthening of digital preservation processes, internationalization, and communication and dissemination efforts.
The main milestone of this phase was the official launch of the COVID-19 Pandemic Digital Memorial Portal on April 7, 2026, bringing together in a single environment the processes of digital preservation, collection management, information retrieval, and public access to content. The conclusion of Phase I, thus, marks the transition from a project under development to a fully operational digital infrastructure, ready to incorporate new collections and progressively expand its reach.
Integrated infrastructure for preservation and access
One of the key achievements was the consolidation of the Memorial’s technological ecosystem. The Portal, Tainacan, Archivematica, and the search interface were deployed on infrastructure hosted on BIREME/PAHO/WHO servers, integrating digital preservation, collection organization, search, and public access.
The search function was customized to retrieve Tainacan’s collections and integrate them with other information sources, allowing Portal users to retrieve and access both the archives of pandemic memories and records and scientific and technical publications related to COVID-19. The workflows for ingesting, preserving, and publishing the collections were also consolidated, establishing a technological infrastructure prepared for continuous evolution.
Expanded collections and a consolidated preservation methodology
The Portal was launched with five digital collections, and by July 2026, it had grown to include twelve collections, featuring textual, photographic, and audiovisual content, as well as accounts related to the experiences of different social groups and regions during the pandemic.
In addition to this quantitative expansion, Phase I made it possible to establish a technical workflow for the identification, transfer, organization, description, preservation, and dissemination of the collections. The content is processed in Archivematica, where preservation and dissemination packages are generated, and subsequently incorporated into Tainacan and the search interface integrated with the VHL Regional Portal. This process established a methodology that can guide the ongoing incorporation of new collections into the Memorial.
Governance and security for the preservation of memory
The consolidation of governance was another important outcome of this phase. The joint effort between Brazil’s Ministry of Health, BIREME/PAHO/WHO, and Unicamp led to progress in defining institutional responsibilities, establishing procedures for incorporating new collections, and addressing rights related to preserved content.
The Terms of Use for the collections were finalized and implemented, and the Collection Management and Preservation Policy and the Preservation and Access Plan were consolidated. These instruments establish the technical, institutional, and legal foundations to ensure that the Memorial’s expansion occurs in a responsible, transparent, and sustainable manner.
Communication, recognition, and expansion of reach
The implementation of the Communication Plan aligned with the project’s key milestones and helped increase the Memorial’s visibility and bring different audiences closer to its collections. These efforts included producing news content, sharing it through institutional channels and social media, providing audiovisual coverage of events and exhibitions, engaging the BVS Network and partner institutions, managing press relations, and showcasing the collections and initiatives to preserve the memory of the pandemic on the Digital Memorial’s own website.
Another achievement was the internationalization of the portal, with content made available in Portuguese, English, and Spanish, expanding opportunities for access and dissemination of the initiative beyond Brazil.
This positioning was strengthened by the Memorial’s submission to international initiatives recognizing documentary heritage, such as the UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize —whose nomination received the endorsement of Brazil’s National Commission for UNESCO — as well as the preparation of nominations for the Memory of the World (MoW) and Memory of the World for Latin America and the Caribbean (MoW LAC) programs. These initiatives underscore the Memorial’s significance and broaden its national and international reach.
The project’s outreach also gained momentum with the traveling exhibition “The Infinite Memory of the Pandemic,” which, after its launch in Rio de Janeiro, traveled to Brasília and São Paulo, with upcoming stops planned for Fortaleza, Manaus, and Porto Alegre. The traveling exhibition expands the Memorial’s presence across the country and brings the public closer to the stories and experiences preserved on the Portal.
These communication efforts were accompanied by monitoring of the Portal’s usage. Between April 7 — the launch date — and July 27, 2026, there were 3,200 active users, 5,600 sessions, and 17,000 page views, with visits coming from several countries. The data provides evidence to guide new communication efforts, improve the user experience, and expand the Memorial’s reach.
Regional Coordination
Regional cooperation also advanced with the holding of the International Seminar “Digital Memories of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Latin America,” organized by the Centro de Humanidades Digitais da Unicamp (Unicamp’s Center for Digital Humanities), with the participation of BIREME/PAHO/WHO. Held on August 14, 2026, the event brought together representatives from initiatives dedicated to preserving the memory of the pandemic in Uruguay and Costa Rica, fostering the exchange of experiences, methodologies, and opportunities for collaboration among the projects. It is hoped that this regional exchange will pave the way for building and strengthening a Latin American network for the preservation of digital memories of the pandemic, expanding dialogue and cooperation among institutions and projects from different countries in the Americas.
From the implementation to the consolidation of a public memory infrastructure
The completion of Phase I has resulted primarily in a sustainable, multilingual digital infrastructure, supported by technical, legal, and institutional processes to preserve and expand access to records of the pandemic.
In addition, the project has established an institutional capacity to identify, organize, preserve, and share collections related to COVID-19. The expansion from five to twelve collections, the integration of preservation, management, and search systems, and the availability of content in three languages demonstrate the initiative’s capacity for growth and continuity.
With the completion of this phase, the Memorial moves into a new cycle focused on expanding and diversifying the collections, strengthening communication, enhancing the user experience, and expanding regional cooperation.
For Juliana Sousa, librarian and project manager at BIREME/PAHO/WHO and focal point for the COVID-19 Pandemic Digital Memorial Project, completing the first phase provides an opportunity to recognize the progress achieved and look ahead to the initiative’s continued development. “Bringing Phase I to a close means looking back at the journey we’ve taken and realizing that we’ve built something that goes beyond a portal: we’ve laid a solid foundation for preserving, organizing, and providing access to memories of the pandemic. This is a collaborative effort that is poised to continue growing and connecting stories, people, and institutions,” she noted.
Phase II of the Digital Memorial is already in the process of being formalized, continuing the initiative and paving the way for new collections, partnerships, and efforts to promote regional cooperation and dissemination. And here’s a ‘spoiler’ for the next chapters: there’s still a great deal of memory to preserve, connect, and share.
To learn more about the Digital Memorial, please visit: COVID-19 Pandemic Digital Memorial.
