A view of the Núcleo de Estudos em Saúde Coletiva

Abstract

This brief evaluation of the first twenty years of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte's Núcleo de Estudos em Saúde Coletiva (Collective Health Studies Group; Nesc/UFRN), celebrated in 2008, gathers together and correlates elements from the literature and from archives, functional and symbolic traces, and the author's experience as a participant during this time. It is observed that Nesc, created in the context of the public health movement, earned a place as a reference on Rio Grande do Norte's collective health scene, although this entailed negotiating a maze while endeavoring to build collective projects. The accumulated experience serves as a tool for achieving institutional continuity.