PROJECT COUNTS ON NEW SPONSORS
The National Museum/UFRJ, the oldest Brazilian scientific and museological institution, reaches the end of 2020 with good news and hope for the future. The Museu Nacional Vive Project, the result of technical cooperation established between the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Instituto Cultural Vale, announces the arrival of Bradesco to the set of institutions that sponsor the Museum rebuilding.
The cultural incentive, in the amount of R$ 50 million, will be managed by the Friends of the National Museum Association (SAMN) which, since 1973, has been watching over the Museum’s heritage and assisting in carrying out the institution’s scientific, administrative and cultural projects. The Director of the Museu Nacional/UFRJ, Alexander Kellner, celebrates “the many achievements of 2020, despite the pandemic that turn the world into a hostage. There are several projects carried out and new partnerships established, with others in progress, which should be announced soon.”
“Bradesco’s union with other large organizations to recover and develop the National Museum is, without a doubt, a way of preserving our history and, in this way, building the future,” highlights Márcio Parizotto, Bradesco Marketing Director.
The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), which also sponsors the Project, confirms a new resource contribution. According to the BNDES Public and Socioenvironmental Management Deputy Managing Director, Júlio Costa Leite, “with this new R$28.3 million contract, BNDES’ support for the National Museum will total R$50 million. These are resources for renovating the roof, the central library and the new administrative building, which is already in operation. But we understand that more is needed, and that is why we are structuring the endowment to give the Museum financial sustainability and attract new investors. Besides, the Bank’s resources will allow the Museum to strengthen its interaction with society, with activities and traveling exhibitions during its reconstruction.”
UFRJ Dean, Denise Pires de Carvalho, thanks “all the efforts of the UFRJ Central Administration, National Museum Direction and the reconstruction work coordination. The Project is growing stronger due to the great efforts of the University Technical Office (ETU) and partners – Vale Cultural Institute, Vale, UNESCO, ALERJ, Rio de Janeiro Federal Deputies Bench, BNDES and, more recently, Bradesco. These institutions have been fundamental for us to dream of reopening the National Museum as soon as possible. It is important to highlight that the executive management has been working uninterruptedly on the rebuilding of our Museum. Special thanks also to the Fundação Universitária José Bonifácio for helping to build the National Museum’s Research and Teaching Campus, which we expect to open in 2021. The perspective is that, in 2021, we will open this new space and that, in 2022, we will reopen at least part of our Palace in the bicentennial year of the Independence of Brazil. Between 2025 and 2026, we hope to deliver to Brazilian society a fully reconstructed museum with new exhibitions.”
