The Editorial Board of RTS wishes to express its solidarity with all the victims and relatives affected by the floods that devastated the Horta Sud region of Valencia on 29 October. On that day and in the days that followed, harrowing news reports in the media brought us the personal stories of those who had lost everything, including hope for the future. Acts of solidarity became widespread across the country, with mutual aid and civic collaboration stepping in as much as possible to meet the needs of those affected.
RTS has always believed that the professional and academic realms can and should go hand in hand. This premise has been proven throughout the journal’s history. Indeed, the current Editorial Board remains committed to continuing to work towards the goal of making RTS a meeting space for practising social workers and those engaged in university teaching.
You have in front of you a very special issue of RTS. As you are perfectly aware, this year we are commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Official Association of Social Work of Catalonia, a major date that conjures up memories of the inception of this institution that brings us social workers together.
In The pathways that social policies follow are commonly haphazard, opportunistic and even scarcely believable. This does not mean we need to despair about whether these policies will come to fruition as long as the demands made by a large portion of the individuals affected are viewed as indispensable and urgent. This is particularly true if these
In this edition, we are pleased to show you the outcome of our initial deeds in charge of the Revista de Treball Social (RTS). We have formed a team of individuals to take on the responsibility of directing RTS for the next four years –comprising associates affiliated with official bodies in the professional and academic spheres– and we are represented throughout Catalonia in a way that highlights the genuine commitment to bring RTS closer to everyone in Catalan territory.
With this issue, the current RTS editorial team concludes its tenure. Four years ago, we presented ourselves as a transitional team that would take over the important work undertaken by previous teams but would nevertheless look forward to the future with a desire for modernisation.
The aim of the editorial board of RTS is to invite social workers to take part in the editorial section. As a result of their professional track records and reflective thought, they have the ability to broaden our perspective on a host of issues that are vital for society and social work at any given time. We at the editorial board reserve this section of our journal in
order to share exceptional events with you the readers.
When we imagine the RTS over the coming years we think of a contemporary, open journal that has an ability to adapt to new ways of thinking and of delivering social work. With this forward-thinking approach, in the previous issue we already embarked on a major transformation. Among other aspects, it became evident in the change of external image, in the adoption of an open process for the receipt of articles and in the incorporation of a peer-review system for the articles submitted.
We would like to take the opportunity of the release of this edition to introduce ourselves as the new RTS editorial board. We have taken the baton from former boards responsibly and appreciatively, and we wish to ensure that the forthcoming issues will continue to re ect these two characteristics.
