On September 16, 2022, CIPÓ, in partnership with the Word Monument Fund (WMF) and local archaeologists, organized the Watch Day in Monte Alegre, in the Amazon state of Pará. The event celebrated the nomination of Monte Alegre State Park (PEMA) to the 2022 World Monuments Watch (WMW), a selection of 25 of the world’s most significant sites whose preservation is urgent and vital for the communities that surround them.
PEMA was nominated to the WMW 2022 by Plataforma CIPÓ, in collaboration with Edithe Pereira (Museu Emilio Goeldi), Claide de Paula Moraes (UFOPA) and Bruno Pastre Máximo (UFAM) archaeologists who have been researching Monte Alegre site for decades Monte Alegre State Park features one of the most unusual archaeological sites in the Amazon Basin: a set of cave paintings dating from 12,000 years ago.
The Monte Alegre Watch Day program included informative activities on the importance of PEMA’s archaeological heritage, as well as artistic, cultural and educational activities involving children from the communities that live in the Park’s surroundings, in Lages, Santana and Ererê. A guided visit to Serra da Lua, one of the most iconic sites within the park, was also carried out. These activities were supported by Lucenildo Soares Lima, known as Professor Corona, a local school teacher.
Watch Day is a WMF event created to promote community engagement and empower local partners to leverage and capitalize on the national and international attention drawn from their inclusion on the World Monuments Watch. At PEMA’s Watch Day, attended by over 100 people, Plataforma CIPÓ and partners sought to highlight the challenges that the park faces, from the conservation of the archaeological site, forest degradation, vandalism and climate change, which have aggravated the region’s fires, with flames often reaching areas which are very proximate from the cave paintings. For CIPÓ senior researcher Flávia do Amaral Vieira, present at the event, “we seek to draw attention to the park in order to help improve its management, as well as boost community tourism and the region’s creative economy”. The event was attended by over one hundred people.
Photos: Kevin Gonzales – M’boia.
