the gem editorial

The idea of starting a magazine that highlight our work started in the most unusual of places. It started when I stayed in the house of one of my best friends in south Sweden. My friend, Vitor Hugo Szortyka, is a creative director, an artist and a designer. We were in primary and high school together and we both moved around the world a lot but always kept in contact and visited each other every couple of years as good friends should do. We also have great respect for each others work and were discussing some ideas about science and public engagement. After some ideas, he suggested that we move away from a newsletter and start a magazine. That is where ‘the gem’ idea originated, in a good friends house, with coffee on the verandah on a summer afternoon in Sweden.

The day after, I start my long journey back to the southern tip of Africa and in dozens of hours waiting in airports and inside airplanes, I developed the first sketches of the gem. When I returned to office, I discussed the idea with the head of scientific support at CERI, Dr. Cheryl Baxter. I was expecting her to tell me that I have been wasting my time, which is something that I do very well, but to my surprise, she liked the idea and said that she is happy to help! I went back to my friend Vitor with a first draft, proud of myself, and he again, gently, told me that my ‘design’ was not good, but as good friends do, he did not only criticize but worked for a couple of weeks to produced the master file for the gem magazine. So here we are, launching the gem, which happened by serendipity and positive vibes, on a summer day...

Text and inspiration: Tulio de Oliveira