The University of Valparaiso, through the editorial seal and the interdisciplinary center for the development of the senior Gerópolis, invites all people over 60 years to participate in the national call “Intimate Journal of Chile: Major letters in times of pandemic”. The instance is supported by the Chilean Association of Municipalities and Valentín Letelier radio.
The aim of the initiative is to collect thoughts, experiences and experiences of this segment of the population, through writings linked to the intimate daily literary genre, which will be disseminated through a digital publication. The first hundred people who submit their texts will receive a book from the UV Editorial, in recognition of their participation.
“We are looking for this to be an instance to share and not to compete. In these times of loneliness and uncertainty we want to invite the elderly to start writing a life diary and to share the pages they want. We seek to form an intimate newspaper in Chile that counts – in a diverse and polyphonic way – what much of the elderly population is experiencing in this pandemic. We believe that the testimony of older adults is vital to tear down cartoons and know their experiences first source,” said the label’s editor general, Ernesto Pfeiffer.
For her part, the executive director of Gerópolis UV, Viviana García, said that the call seeks to promote a positive look around the elderly, who have had to deal with a series of prejudices associated with old age during the health emergency. “It is an invitation for older people to share their emotions, feelings, reflections and part of their life in quarantine times. We hope this will be a historic resource for the generations that come,” he added.
In this regard, Ernesto Pfeiffer indicated that one of the virtues of the intimate journal is that it makes it possible to discover different aspects of the person who writes. “The possibilities offered by the daily life are numerous, almost everything fits in this genre, even confessions, ideas, remembrance, frustrations, etc. We emphasize that this call is for all older people, even those who have never written before,” he said.
The call
The call was designed with the participation of a group of elderly people associated with Gerópolis, a center specialized in uv aging and old age. One of them is María Eugenia Avilés, who highlighted the national scope of the initiative: “She speaks of decentralization and unity, not only physical territorial, but in spirit and idiosyncrasies. No more segments, no divisions that diminish or invisit a group of people.” In turn, he commented that the call is an opportunity to change the view of the elderly, “who continue to be diminished and almost disposable.”
The reception period ends on 18 June. Different means and shipping formats will be accepted, in order to encourage the participation of all seniors. The texts will be read by a team of professionals from the publishing label and the Gerópolis center, as well as senior members of the Joint Executive Council of Gerópolis. Depending on the number of texts received, a selection will be made that reflects the heterogeneity of this age group, accommodating various styles, contents and territories.
Bases of the call in http://geropolis.uv.cl/images/basesdiariointimo.pdf
