This transition has posed its challenges, but also its opportunities. While we lost some valuable knowledge and expertise, this volume has also been shaped by the new perspectives and passions that this team of editors brought to the table. I can say with certainty, that the past year wasn’t easy on any of us, but throughout all the lockdowns, restrictions and hard times, my team kept their dedication up and delivered this volume, next to their tremendous academic workload and other responsibilities. Now with spring in full swing and life opening up again, not only are we finally publishing this volume of ESAJ, but also working hard on ensuring a sustainable future and good relationships within the EUC ecosystem for future ESAJ generations.
This volume also saw a record number of submissions – almost fifty papers compared to just over thirty in the previous volume. This has meant more work for the editorial team as well as many difficult decisions. So many papers were deserving of publication, but we’re constrained by the need to ensure that each paper selected for publication is given the attention it deserves, as well as the need for ESAJ to represent the diversity of courses and departments within EUC.
To the authors among you, thank you for your dedication and time in preparing your papers for publication. It hasn’t been easy for us to operate under the dual challenges posed by Coronavirus and pursuing a full-time degree, and I’m sure it hasn’t been easy for you either. My thanks also to my fantastic team – Deniz Hakman, Freya Peers, Lieke van der Pol, Phuong Nguyen, and Thore Elberling. Their energy and commitment have made this volume and the continued publication of ESAJ possible. My special thanks goes to Thore for taking on the responsibilities of editor-in-chief after my graduation for the final stages of the publication process.
To our readers, I hope that many of you will become authors in future volumes. Personally, I’ve always found it a shame when a paper that I’ve poured my heart and soul into dies a silent death in a folder somewhere. In our fast-paced world, it’s important to have a place where you can publish your thinking, and for that thinking to contribute to the discussion – a vital part of the ecology of thought. But for now, I hope that you enjoy the articles in this edition, that you learn from them and challenge them.
Thore Elberling & Daniel Xu