Archive Center game: New app simulates research in archives of Brazilian political history

Fundação Getulio Vargas’ School of Social Sciences (FGV CPDOC) has launched a smartphone game called Casa Acervo (“Archive Center”), which simulates research in the personal archives of key figures in Brazil’s political history. Embarking on different missions, players can explore various types of documents and themes. The launch was part of the school’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

This educational game is a fun and different way to explore historical sources and the world of archives and research. To play, just download the “Casa Acervo” app from your phone’s app store for free. Within the game, you can also discover FGV CPDOC’s archives and visit a virtual exhibition called “I leave life to enter history: Getúlio Vargas and political propaganda (1930-1954).”

The Archive Center game is the latest development in FGV CPDOC’s Heritage Promotion and Education Project, which since 2017 has been seeking to enhance society’s access to its historical archives, promoting social inclusion through heritage-related education. The program also runs in-person and distance activities for elementary and high school students, undergraduates and professionals in the fields of education and archives.

The Heritage Promotion and Education Project also encompasses workshops on using historical sources in the classroom, designed to train teachers for this activity and create teaching materials from FGV CPDOC’s historical documents, as well as guided tours of Getúlio Vargas’ personal archives and FGV CPDOC’s collection, including multimedia and interactive activities about the world of archives.

About FGV CPDOC

FGV CPDOC obtained the highest score out of more than 2,000 higher education institutions across the country in the Brazilian Education Ministry’s 2021 General Course Index ranking, whose results were released in March 2023. The school was founded in 2005, building on its forerunner institution, the Center for Research and Documentation in Contemporary Brazilian History, which was created in 1973 with the goal of storing and producing document sources of importance to the country’s history.

The school offers a bachelor’s degree in the social sciences, as well as graduate programs (both degree and non-degree), designed to contribute to a better understanding of social reality, especially with regard to processes and topics of relevance to Brazil and its participation on the global stage. The institution combines undergraduate and graduate education with academic and professional activities.

About FGV CPDOC’s archives

The archives donated to FGV CPDOC now make up the country’s most important collection of personal archives of Brazilian public figures. In all, there are around 200 sets of archives and 1.8 million documents. Anyone may consult them via the Archives Guide. The archives also have an Oral History Program, which has so far collected more than 5,000 hours of recordings, corresponding to nearly 1,000 interviews, many of which are accessible to the public.

The school’s collection also includes Dicionário Histórico-Biográfico Brasileiro, a dictionary focusing on Brazilian history since 1930. All the entries may be consulted in FGV CPDOC’s integrated archive database. The school also publishes two journals, Revista Estudos Históricos (“Journal of Historical Studies”) and Revista Mosaico (“Mosaic: Journal of History, Politics and Culture”).

Since FGV CPDOC was founded, its research laboratories have built up expertise in several areas of study. One of the school’s most distinctive features is its multidisciplinary approach, reflected in its team of researchers, who are qualified in multiple areas.