The Abya Yala – UPS publishing house presented its new website

Quito, lunes 30 enero 2017
(From left to right) Gabriela Astudillo, Milagros Aguirre, Juan Bottasso, José Juncosa and Javier Herrán
(From left to right) Gabriela Astudillo, Milagros Aguirre, Juan Bottasso, José Juncosa and Javier Herrán

 

On January 26th the UPS-Abya Yala Publishing House presented its new website that has a new interface, is friendlier and more interactive, giving people access to over 2,000 books on social sciences, anthropology, ecology, history, communication, literature, indigenous communities, education and others.

Milagros Aguirre, general editor, spoke about this new phase which is characterized by the slogan "Con raices y con antenas", "raices", or roots in English, because there's a history of over 40 years at the service of indigenous communities, disseminating its history and culture by constantly publishing work, and "antenas" or antennas in English, because it is connected with the world through technology, looking at the future and engaging in things such as e-commerce for books or designing e-books.

The event was attended by Juan Botasso, founde of the publishing house; Javier Herran, UPS president; Jose Juncosa, vice president of UPS's branch in Quito; Milagros Aguirre, general editor; Gabriela Astudillo, web designer from Sabana Kreativos company; and other members of the Abya Yala team.

Father Javier told attendees to live in a society that works with culture, trust and relationships. "Today's celebration is a cultural construct, an effort, a challenge, because it implies going from a physical book to its digital version, from a showcase to a screen where we will be seen and users will have access to this knowledge", he said.

They later presented a video with the history of Abya Yala as a cultural initiative and a way of deepening knowledge of indigenous communities. For Father Bottaso the purpose of the publishing house was to show the culture of communities from their struggles, perseverance and strengthening their contribution and knowledge.

Jose Juncosa spoke about two characteristics that make it different, "it is an exhaustive editorial that seeks to go beyond what already exists is, it proposes topics to explore and its doors are open for production and dialogue between UPS professors and other authors." Aguirre said that the website is not a showcase of Abya Yala, instead it is a platform of sale and relation with authors, readers and users for the reflection, collaboration and participation of all.

Books at Abya Yala - UPS are available to buy in their digital (PDF or e-book) or physical versions.

Visit the website: www.abyayala.org