Doing and imagining extension practices in times of crisis

Abstract

The choice of the theme that organizes the dossier of the present edition was the result of a consensus within our editorial committee. The convergence of our views and readings regarding the fact that we are going through times of crisis occurred almost spontaneously. We assume that the crisis in terms of political, social and economic processes does not only concern our country; we also agree in our reading that the crisis has a regional as well as a global scale. On the other hand, and beyond the geographic, we can say that in terms of socio-historical process it is, as several authors argue, a civilizational crisis that is presented to us in an alarming way as an environmental crisis, which as such has a civilizational character since it puts at stake the very continuity of the species. 

Faced with this scenario, we felt it was imperative to rethink the place of university extension in order to sustain a collective way of walking and going through this crisis, while reaffirming our commitment to those sectors of society that are most vulnerable and threatened. Thus, from the recognition of this need, we invited to share the views, reflections and experiences of extensionists. The call aimed at co-constructing our work and imagining extensionist practices in times of crisis, and the result of this call is reflected in the pages that make up this dossier that we share here.