Dr. Medardo Tapia Letter of Introduction

Cuernavaca, Morelos. April 05, 2011.

Dear Colleagues:

                It is my pleasure to inform you that starting this year, I have assumed the position as editor of the Revista Interamericana de Educación para la Democracia/ International Journal of Education for Democracy (RIED/IJED).

                I accept the responsibility under heavy expectations, mainly due to the initiative, quality and commitment of my predecessor, Dr. Bradley Levinson, who is currently the Director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies in the University of Indiana and also a member of the Multinational and Inter-institutional Editorial Council which also collaborated for the start of this project and whose members we thank for their collaboration. Special appreciation must go out to the International Program for Education on Values and Democratic Practices of the American States Organization (in Spanish known as: la Organización de los Estados Americanos, OEA), which pursued the journal’s creation and continues to be committed to its continuity and fortification; it should also be recognized that institutionally, the University of Indiana is responsible for the first volumes of the Journal, with support from the University of Toronto and the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.       

It is important to clarify that the RIED/IJED has confirmed the continued support from all the institutions that collaborated together with great determination in its conception. However, with the recent change of staff, we seize this opportunity to take on a horizon of consolidation and to tackle the challenges that this very experience has revealed, as well as the challenges that democracy and education pose for America and the world. As a matter of fact, some of the answers to these challenges are the product of a query that was reached during the last meeting of countries participating in the Regional System for Citizen Competitions (in Spanish: Sistema Regional de Competencias Ciudadanas, SREDECC), which took place in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on October of 2010.       

                For the time being, we are putting together two monographic volumes and a printed series in order to incorporate RIED/IJED into international data bases which will widen its consultation and distribution.

                I hope to be able to fulfill the expectations of the RIED/IJED readers in this process of fortification, and more importantly, I hope to keep counting with your collaboration. I am at your disposal for any proposals or consultations.                  

Yours Sincerely, 

Dr. Medardo Tapia Uribe

RIED/IJED Editor

Head Researcher

Regional Center for Multidisciplinary Research   

National Autonomous University of Mexico (CRIM, UNAM)