Introducing the Jain Digest Editorial Team Some of you may have heard of a 1969 movie “If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium”. It refers to a tour of various countries in Europe where Tuesday is the day to visit Belgium. However, for the members of the Jain Digest editorial team, if it’s Tuesday evening, it must be the time for a Jain Digest meeting!
Jain Digest – Behind the Scenes
For that past few years during the planning phase of the next issue of Jain Digest, we have been meeting every Tuesday evening over Zoom. We start with a kick-off meeting for each issue about three months prior to the publication date. Prior to October 2019, we used to decide on the theme of the new issue – such as Compassion, Forgiveness, Humility, etc; and then decide on the articles related to that theme. Since then, because we have changed the format to have various sections in the magazine, each section editor is given an opportunity to propose articles for their section. During the first two months, we meet to discuss and finalize the article topics, assign authors & provide them guidelines for the articles, review their drafts, etc. During the last month prior to publication, we add pictures to the articles, design the front cover and inside pages, create PDF files and do a final review. After the final version is ready, we upload it to the Issuu platform where a flip-book version is created. As a part of that process, we make sure all the external links to videos and websites are working properly and then publish the magazine. The Issuu platform also allows us to provide links to individual articles in the magazine. These links are then published through JAINA Newsletter so that our readers can directly go to the article of their interest. The team works in a collaborative environment where each member is encouraged to express their opinion about the proposed content, new ideas, design of the front page as well as inside pages, etc. We discuss the feedback received from our readers and make needed improvements. We also share ideas about how the magazine readership can be increased. The team members are always ready to try new ways of reaching out to the wider Jain community – not only in North America, but around the world. We encourage you all to join this wonderful team & bring your passion & creativity to serve our community!
Sanjay Bhandari, Detroit, MI Editor, Young Generation Section Sanjay Bhandari has been a part of the leadership team at Jain Society of Greater Detroit at various positions such as Publication Officer - Executive team, Vice Chairman - Board of Trustees & has been an active team member of the Nomination team and various Fund Raising teams over the past 17 years. He served as a volunteer during the 2013 JAINA Convention held in Detroit, Michigan. Sanjay has participated in various musical events as a singer and performer with various organizations. His interest include singing, listening to the music, traveling, socializing, writing movie reviews, running the YouTube channel with various performances/reviews. About his experience in working with the Jain Digest team, Sanjay says: “I got a great opportunity to join the Jain Digest in 2015. Since then, I have written and edited many articles. I found myself fortunate to be part of this wonderful team with so many talented editors and advisors from various states in USA. With each edition, I have learned some new things and I also got a chance to work with the teams from young generation Jain such as YJA and YJP. Writing, editing, and reading the Jain Digest articles has changed my perspective towards Jainism and its values to a great extent. The Jain Digest team is extremely helpful and supportive. The members come up with many good ideas. We meet regularly to discuss how to bring better content and quality to Jain Digest. Since July 2019 we have moved the publication to a multimedia online version which enables us to embed videos and links to other websites, thus enriching the reader’s experience. This 8 has also saved JAINA thousands of dollars in printing and shipping costs.”
