Opinion Sur
After 55 issues of Opinión Sur, we are finally getting to discover who we are and what we do. Even though it may seem a joke and we may elicit more than one smile from our readers, it happens that–as with many things in life–we launched this initiative several years ago filled with enthusiasm and ready to advance with quick steps… yet with a compass that was a little bit imprecise. We knew we had ideas and perspectives to share with others, and made up our minds to do it through the monthly publication of articles that reflected a difficult mix between strategic thinking and proposals that were susceptible of being implemented in our southern countries. Then came the Book Collection of Opinion Sur, Opinión Sur Youth and our journalistic columns. Our latest additions were Opinión Sur and Sur Norte’s e-books, downloadable from the Internet. To describe all this the young geniuses in our team prepared a presentation consistent with modern times where images, colours and movement are not absent. Taking a look at it is worthwhile: http://www.surnorte.org.ar/opinionsur/opinionsurpresentation.htm.
With our backpack thus loaded, we began to think about what we had become (because we must confess without blushing at all that the sequence of developments had not been anticipated and much less programmed). And the first thing that occurred to us was to see ourselves as a not-for-profit editorial group. That until someone pointed out that such is only one aspect of what we are (we were told, “You are not booksellers”); actually our editorial development is just an instrument we were forced to use due to the lack of access to other distribution channels. Then, we said to ourselves, if the concept of editorial group does not represent us thoroughly, what is Opinión Sur?
We thought and looked at one another. There we were again surprised when we acknowledged that we are much closer to being something like “generators of ideas and proposals for sustainable development”. In other words, we produce contents in the two-fold dimension of strategic thinking and proposals for action. But it is true that we distribute a good portion of those contents through our own channels (monthly journal, Opinión Sur Youth, books, columns, e-books), only that we would have no impediments to using other channels. How about this characterization?
Further on we will tell you what we continue to turn into. As life is dynamic, even if we stubbornly try to plan it, the truth is that its richness and diversity of paths overflows any attempt to keep it within carefully designed corrals.
As always, we hope and wish that the articles in this issue of Opinion Sur are of interest to you.
Cordial greetings,
The Editors”
