Berta Lutz's legacy becomes part of UNESCO's Memory of the World

The documentary collection Feminism, science and politics - the legacy of Bertha Lutz had its registration approved, on 24 May 2023, in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. Scientist, biologist, diplomat, politician, educator and intense activist for women's rights, Bertha Lutz, left a legacy beyond the years of campaigning for women's suffrage.

Created by UNESCO in 1992, the Memory of the World Programme seeks to prevent the irrevocable loss of documentary heritage - documents or collections of documents of significant and lasting value, whether in paper, audiovisual, digital or any other format. In addition, the program aims to safeguard documentary heritage and make it more accessible to the general public.

Lutz was born in São Paulo in 1894. She also played an essential role in drafting the Charter of the United Nations at the conference in San Francisco in 1945. Along with other women, the Brazilian guaranteed the critical commitment in the Charter: "promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion." There, Lutz also proposed the creation of a branch of the future organization dedicated to women's rights. It was the beginning of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, an organization that still works actively today to defend women's rights.

In an era with little space for women in public life, Lutz was vice president of the Inter-American Commission of Women and chaired the feminist organization Brazilian Federation for Women's Progress. By giving these documents the proper archival treatment, Lutz's trajectory and the achievements resulting from her actions and struggles continued to be a source of knowledge and inspiration. Furthermore, preserving and disseminating documents filed in Brazilian archives allows historians to study relevant aspects of women's rights policies in the Americas.

Read more:

• United Nations Charter