The 8th Meeting of the Baixo Alentejo Museum Network took place on 12 October in Moura, under the theme ‘Risk Management in Museums: Between Safeguarding, Management and Planning’. The importance of safeguarding museum collections, with an emphasis on prevention and planning, and the concerns surrounding this issue generated considerable interest among the Museums belonging to the Network and other institutions in attendance. The Meeting was attended by 55 participants.
The Programme was divided into two panels. The morning panel, entitled ‘Safeguarding and protecting memory and identity’, featured anthropologist Carlos Pedro, who delivered a presentation entitled ‘A rural world without rural people: some questions about rural heritage’, and researcher Florência Cacete, who presented ‘From physical risk to digital risk: challenges of the digital transition in safeguarding and managing rural and local museum heritage’. In this context, the discussions addressed issues relating to the rural world today, museums focusing on rural life and agricultural work, and the challenges of digital transformation in relation to intangible heritage and memory.
In the afternoon, the panel entitled ‘Risk prevention in museums: how to protect collections’ featured a presentation by Rita Balona on the dramatic events in Alcácer do Sal. Her pragmatic and realistic presentation, entitled ‘Between water and memory: the floods in Alcácer do Sal and their Impact on archaeological heritage’, was followed by a presentation entitled ‘Building capacity to protect: from risk assessment to safeguarding’, delivered by Diana Carvalho, from the Portuguese Museum Network, and Mário Ferreira, Deputy Chief of the Lisbon Fire Brigade Regiment. The presentation addressed the importance of training and developing risk prevention and management plans aimed at preserving museum collections.
The discussion raised issues relating to the importance of assessment and knowledge of local areas, buildings and collections, the challenges posed by environmental issues and climate change, as well as those associated with changes in society and technological advances. The Meeting provided an important opportunity to share ideas and experiences, strengthening knowledge and highlighting the value of networking.