González Huesa's "In the right direction" or the commitment to social journalism
The journalist and director general of Servimedia, José Manuel González Huesa, has presented his book " In the right direction", published by the Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities (Cermi), coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the entity.
This book, with a foreword by Alberto Durán, secretary general of Cermi and first vice-president of ONCE, and by the writer and journalist Juan Cruz, gathers 111 opinion articles written by the author in the last 11 years in the weekly portal cermi.es. A book that reflects the author's commitment to the conquest of social rights and in which he talks about disability, the third sector, the gap between men and women, the elderly, the barriers to be overcome, social inclusion, social movements, the need for agreements to move forward, equality, Guernica... Articles in which there is opinion but also information and that fighting variable to achieve social rights, as explained by the author himself. And hope, "which is the engine that moves the world", as the journalist Mayte Antona, who acted as master of ceremonies, emphasised.
"We are truly before an exquisite narrative marked by experience and judgement, about events and actions of enormous social transcendence that have taken place in Spanish society in recent years", writes Durán in the introduction to this work. For Juan Cruz, "this is a book against abuse, against mockery, against discrimination, in favour of solidarity, of the common search for the truth, and, therefore, of the correct use of information and, above all, of data".
González Huesa, who was also accompanied by the Minister of Health, Enrique Ruiz Escudero, Alberto Durán, and the journalist Miguel Ángel Noceda, told how the book came about: the excitement when he was commissioned to write it, the three nights in a row compiling the articles, the correction, the doubts... And he also recalled the independence he has enjoyed since he began writing these texts in 2005. "The virtue of Servimedia is that it is the most open media in the world and the least ideological", said the author, who defended the journalist's duty to know the society around him and to "move consciences".
He also spoke of his professional career and his constant struggle to achieve social rights, such as, for example, the modification of article 49 of the Constitution to eliminate the word "handicapped": "We are going to achieve it", said González Huesa before concluding his speech with words of thanks for his wife and daughters and for his other family, "which is the ONCE".
But this event was more than just a presentation. All the speakers agreed in highlighting the goodness and professionalism of the author, "his effort to achieve true journalism", as Mayte Antona said; "his fight for social rights, for the profession and for citizens", as pointed out by Noceda, recently elected president of FAPE; or his involvement so that "many of the achievements have been real", as highlighted by Durán.
Words of praise that were also shared by the Regional Minister of Health "for his meticulous and close analysis of the social reality" and which he extended to the work of Cermi to advance the inclusion and quality of life of people with disabilities. Not before recalling the commitment of the Community of Madrid, through various ministries, to promote such inclusion, Ruiz Escudero, said that the book "contributes to the aims of Cermi" and showed his admiration to all those who for 25 years have been going "in the right direction".
