Adaptation to the Environment: Changes in Initial Projects in Ottoman Shephardic Press

The origins of Sephardic press date back to the mid-20th century, when the influence of the Western world spread across the Sephardim communities of the East. The content of these newspapers was diverse: pieces of general interest, but also scientific, literary and humorous works, with various political orientations. These papers were published in different languages, writing styles and alphabets. Those to be analysed here, however, were published in aljamiado Judeo-Spanish: three papers from Smyrna and one from Salonica. Throughout this work we will focus on the different obstacles and difficulties the editors and publishers of this Ottoman Sephardic press had to face to bring their publications to light.

Art as an educative and social tool

Since remote times, certain sectors of society have been exposed to inequality and vulnerability, where adequate intervention processes have become conspicuous because of their absence. Nowadays, current societies have the responsibility of contributing, based on their experience and knowledge, with more efficient policies and programs that improve the life quality of the most disadvantaged. It is here where art and its different tools play a very important role, not only on a physical level, but also as an education tool that allows the development of emotional, mental and communicative skills. The aim of this paper is to make clear the potential of art as an instrument of social and educational intervention. It starts by showing worldwide-collected experience related to education and arts, and then, it acquaints the reader with two parallel intervention projects that worked with youths under social vulnerability conditions. These interventions were developed based on a qualitative research (Grounded theory), using as methodology “The Artistic Mediation” with emphasis on body language. This methodology helped researchers to get close to the participants and to know their experiences and emotions. At the same time, it was possible to evidence the positive effects of educative interventions through art. These workshops were based on an artistic methodology especially focused on body language. Data in this work is qualitative, and as such, it permits a special approach to the personal and emotional experiences of the participants; clearly showing the positive effects of the referenced practice on them.