FCT launches Arquivo.pt awards

FCT launches the first edition of the Arquivo.pt Awards, a Call to promote the use of the Arquivo.pt service for preserving old websites and to encourage and recognize research and the discovery of useful applications of the Portuguese web archive for society. 

To enter, participants must submit a text and a short video describing their work by May 4. Individual or group projects on any topic may be submitted. The first prize is €10,000, the second prize is €3,000, and the third prize is €2,000.

The Call reward original and innovative works that demonstrate the usefulness of the Arquivo.pt service and the importance of preserving and using information published on the web. The works must have Arquivo.pt as their main source of information and be practical applications or complete research studies based on web information available in the archive.

Millions of web pages are published every day. Shortly afterwards, most of this information is no longer available and is irretrievably lost. Arquivo.pt is a research infrastructure managed by FCT that allows users to search and access archived web pages. Its main objective is to preserve information published on the web for the purposes of memory, study, and research.

There are several examples of possible uses for the content preserved in this infrastructure. In 2017, as part of its 20th anniversary celebrations, FCT presented the Time Tunnel, a journey into the Foundation's digital past, using the history preserved in Arquivo.pt. Recently, TSF, in celebration of its 30th anniversary, also used Arquivo.pt for an infographic that invites viewers to take a journey into the past through the website Radio, where it is possible to follow its evolution and review significant moments in Portugal and around the world.

More information about the Call available on the FCT website and at Arquivo.pt