Values, histories, cultures, and traditional knowledges related to the waters of the Sao Francisco River Basin, Brasil: the online Beiras d'Água audiovisual repository (in Portuguese)

This contribution presents the experience of a communicational tool, the Beiras d’Água web repository developed to contribute to the visibilization and recognition of the diverse water-related relationships, meanings, histories cultural traditions and practices characteristic of the inhabitants of the São Francisco River Basin in Brazil. The paper evaluates some aspects of the performance of the Beiras d’Água repository in relation to the users’perception about its identity, communicational value, and content. The site contains a collection of audiovisual productions, including films, documentaries, and interviews with members of local traditional communities. For the evaluation, we applied a structured questionnaire about the information and audiovisual content available on the portal to gather information about the users’ experiences. The survey obtained 34 responses, and the results suggest that this type of communication tool can be valuable in supporting efforts to visibilize, protect, and empower traditional communities facing the negative social and environmental impacts of aggressive development projects threatening their living conditions and survival.