As Tatiana Capelo, Provincial Delegate for Social Communication, explains, the origins of the "Noticiero Salesiano" date back to the arrival of the first Salesians in Ecuador, who produced a chronicle of what was happening in the communities. These documents were then collected with the aim of preserving the historical memory. Subsequently, the magazine became the official means of communication of the Province, thanks to the initiative of Fr Segundo Torres, when the Provincial House was located in via Alpallana, in Quito. The oldest edition of the "Noticiero Salesiano", recorded in the Salesian Historical Archive, dates back to 1973.
Fr Segundo took care of collecting the information sent by the Salesians, the laity and the communicators, and then created a black and white brochure to be sent monthly to the communities and works. This proposal was highly appreciated at the time, because it was the only means available to know the progress of the Province. Over the years, new challenges have arisen. In September 2003, the Salesian Office of Communication took charge of the publication of the magazine, to strengthen its editorial content and communicate the Salesian mission more strongly. Also for this reason, in the same year, the Network of Salesian contributors was created, in order to start networking at the national level.
In 2010, on the occasion of the visit of Don Bosco's Casket in Ecuador, a colour edition of the magazine was produced and it was decided to maintain these characteristics. Finally, in February 2020, due to the pandemic, publication was interrupted. Until then, however, the "Noticiero" had a monthly circulation of about 800 copies.
The new situation imposed by the pandemic meant that the magazine began to be sent in PDF format, by email, on a monthly basis. Over time, the characteristics of this medium have been gradually modified to meet the new needs of readers and, at the end of 2023, it was decided to transform the "Noticiero Salesiano" into a newsletter or digital bulletin.
Tatiana Capelo says that, after an evaluation carried out among Salesians, lay people, young people and communicators, it clearly emerged that the "Noticiero" had to evolve. "The first challenge was to build a proposal that would allow us to have a more agile, dynamic newspaper that was closer to readers both in terms of graphics and content" explains Tatiana. "A second challenge was to reach a greater number of friends of Don Bosco, offering the possibility for more people to subscribe to the newsletter through the website, social networks or institutional mail."
At the same time, it is important to remember that the newsletter proposal was presented during the annual evaluation and planning meeting of the "Noticiero Salesiano" held in November and, subsequently, shared with the Provincial Council, in December, for approval.
The importance of generating communication networks in today's digital world, was also highlighted by the General Councillor for Social Communication, Fr Gildasio Mendes, who said: "Don Bosco, in his own way, was a communicator with a network vision. Don Bosco created a network of people to communicate what is good! This is the fundamental criterion for all of us who live in the digital world: promoting the good that is done. Promote the good that comes from the heart and actions of many people."
Following these guidelines, the "Noticiero Salesiano" will aim to make visible the educative and pastoral work that is carried out in the different sectors. For this reason, in conclusion, Tatiana Capelo invites all Salesians, lay people and young people in ECU to send their contributions to this provincial communications medium, to disseminate what is being done for the young people of Ecuador.
