austraLasia #3061
SB Blog
MAPUTO: 1 May 2012 - Maputo, you say? Where's that? In fact it is about as far from the EAO Region as you could imagine. Maputo is Mozambique's Capital city and the centre of the Salesian Vice Province of Mozambique, a Portuguese-speaking (officially, though as a first language, most would speak Swahili or another local language) Republic just north of South Africa, and on a line with Madagascar to the East.
Why this sudden interest in Mozambique?
Bro Rogelio Arenal, a Spanish missionary in a Portuguese-speaking region, which is already something of a 'coup', has pulled off what we believe is a communications coup - the very first official Salesian Bulletin to exist as a blog. Mind you, it is not the first SB Blog (A number of Salesian Bulletins around the world have this kind of digital offshoot, the Central American Province being perhaps the best example), but it is the first Salesian Bulletin to come into existence mainly as a blog.
Let's allow Rogelio to tell us about it:
"My dear brothers and sisters,
A few days ago I sent you the Salesian Bulletin in digital edition (cheap and because it is digital we can reach many more people through social networks). But one step was missing so that the SB could be called a truly 'online' SB, which seems to be the road we really have to travel. Since we do not have a website (too costly for us now), we have opted for the one thing that we can afford because it is free - a blog! An that's why we now have the SB online".
He then goes on to explain the advantages of the SB as a blog, especially for those in Mozambique:
- people can read it, even with slow connections
- since we will be publishing more 'editions' of the SB this way, articles can still be collected in a topic file. e.g. you want to see or read all the messages of the RM in the SB - just click on the topic Rector Major and you get all messages posted on this topic.
- You can actually play your part through comments
- As you can see, the pics we offer in the blog are the same ones you can see in the digital or printed version.
This particular item of news could well be an inspiration to provinces, including several in our own region, who face all kinds of difficulties, especially financial ones, in putting together a Salesian Bulleitn. But connectivity in poorer regions of the globe has increased exponentially in the last few years: a 2.988.4% growth in Africa from 200-2011.This is due to low-level satellite coverage, especially through O3b which has started connecting billions of people in the region within 45 degrees latitude either side of the Equator - that contains the majority of the world's poorest people.
It is in the light of this that Rogelio and his team's efforts seem so much in line with what Don Bosco might well have done facing similar circumstances - reach as many ordinary people as possible using the developing means at his disposal.
SB Blog
MAPUTO: 1 May 2012 - Maputo, you say? Where's that? In fact it is about as far from the EAO Region as you could imagine. Maputo is Mozambique's Capital city and the centre of the Salesian Vice Province of Mozambique, a Portuguese-speaking (officially, though as a first language, most would speak Swahili or another local language) Republic just north of South Africa, and on a line with Madagascar to the East.
Why this sudden interest in Mozambique?
Bro Rogelio Arenal, a Spanish missionary in a Portuguese-speaking region, which is already something of a 'coup', has pulled off what we believe is a communications coup - the very first official Salesian Bulletin to exist as a blog. Mind you, it is not the first SB Blog (A number of Salesian Bulletins around the world have this kind of digital offshoot, the Central American Province being perhaps the best example), but it is the first Salesian Bulletin to come into existence mainly as a blog.
Let's allow Rogelio to tell us about it:
"My dear brothers and sisters,
A few days ago I sent you the Salesian Bulletin in digital edition (cheap and because it is digital we can reach many more people through social networks). But one step was missing so that the SB could be called a truly 'online' SB, which seems to be the road we really have to travel. Since we do not have a website (too costly for us now), we have opted for the one thing that we can afford because it is free - a blog! An that's why we now have the SB online".
He then goes on to explain the advantages of the SB as a blog, especially for those in Mozambique:
- people can read it, even with slow connections
- since we will be publishing more 'editions' of the SB this way, articles can still be collected in a topic file. e.g. you want to see or read all the messages of the RM in the SB - just click on the topic Rector Major and you get all messages posted on this topic.
- You can actually play your part through comments
- As you can see, the pics we offer in the blog are the same ones you can see in the digital or printed version.
This particular item of news could well be an inspiration to provinces, including several in our own region, who face all kinds of difficulties, especially financial ones, in putting together a Salesian Bulleitn. But connectivity in poorer regions of the globe has increased exponentially in the last few years: a 2.988.4% growth in Africa from 200-2011.This is due to low-level satellite coverage, especially through O3b which has started connecting billions of people in the region within 45 degrees latitude either side of the Equator - that contains the majority of the world's poorest people.
It is in the light of this that Rogelio and his team's efforts seem so much in line with what Don Bosco might well have done facing similar circumstances - reach as many ordinary people as possible using the developing means at his disposal.
