Strengthening culture within our communities | Ministry for National Heritage

To a visitor, Malta must be a bit overwhelming at first. There’s so much more to us than winter sun and beaches and our modern bustling lifestyle co-existing right beside our ancient historical past.  We are such a concentrated experience for the outsiders, that it makes them want to return to Malta over and over for new adventures.

For us, we know where one village or town ends and when another begins.  We’re rightly proud of our communities, our local traditions and values and we all strive to make things even better next time.

This month, we’ve seen two wonderful examples of these year-over-year improvements – both the Hamrun Chocolate Festival and Birgufest are calendar events that organisers and local visitors simply cannot wait for.  They’re not done to grab international headlines, (even though this year's edition of the Chocolate Festival made its way into the UK’s Guardian newspaper), they’re done because we love where we come from, we’re passionate about what we do and we want everyone to celebrate our local unique talents together.  

Both events were a runaway success and received tens of thousands of visitors. Although most of these visitors were local, Malta doesn’t need to look far to see the tourists. Most of them have never experienced anything quite so unique in their lives and this is what we celebrate. Whether it’s a life-sized 150 kg chocolate sculpture of Russel Crowe, or simply turning a corner of a quiet candle-lit alley to find a centuries-old village square filled with people dancing to live music, it’s unique.

Organising such events is both challenging and rewarding. Birgu by Candlelight uses over 20,000 candles throughout the streets and alleyways of the city to create a magical atmosphere.  It brings together local and international artists, craft workers and musicians alongside local businesses, charities and voluntary organisations to create a lasting impact.  It is also a process of renewal for the city’s culture, winding together the strands of tradition and modernity to constantly maintain a contemporary experience.

Hamrun’s Chocolate Festival was more than just an opportunity to give in to the temptation of one of our favourite treats. With chocolate from Malta, Italy, Germany, Belgium, USA, UK, Brazil and many other countries, it was a unique opportunity for us to sample different flavours from around the world.  And this year, the creativity on display was truly breathtaking. From life-sized sculptures to the finest intricacies of delicate craftwork, it was clear that many hundreds of hours went into the preparation of the display pieces as well as the logistics involved in making the event such a huge success.

Our job as a Government is to protect this and keep it strong. Throughout Malta and Gozo, local councils together with voluntary groups, cultural societies, artists and active citizens, are building communities through their own unique forms of expression. During the 2023-2024 period, 49 local councils have benefitted from a total of €800,000 between them in support of their annual cultural activities programmes.  These funds are made available through collaboration between the Ministry for Tourism and the Parliamentary Secretariat for Local Councils. 

These cultural activities achieve a number of important objectives which include improving the promotion of culture and the unique cultural heritage of the localities and increasing local tourism.  Innovation, creativity, quality and sustainability are key ingredients in the success of such activities whether they attract thousands, or tens of thousands of visitors. For each hosting locality, the positive effects are more long-lasting than the sense of pride that each experiences though. They contribute very significantly to local economies in the towns and villages where they are organised. They also introduce tourism to places that are perhaps not traditionally associated.

At the heart of this work, beyond the economic benefits, the collaboration between the Ministry for Tourism and the Parliamentary Secretariat for Local Councils has two goals; keeping our unique Maltese and Gozitan culture alive and vibrant, and improving Malta’s tourism product.  The collaboration is mutually supportive, genuine and deserving of recognition as a process in its own right.

This is not a self-congratulatory point though, indeed the collaboration by itself would be worthless were it not for the work of so many people in local communities. It is here that the true congratulations are to be offered. The tireless work of mayors and local councillors, the energy and passion of local communities and cultural groups and the relentless work of local business communities deserve full recognition. A visitor of Birgufest or the Hamrun Chocolate Festival experiences something wonderful and unique, whether they are local or a tourist. We rarely stop to think about what it must take to make something as successful as these events, so, I, conclude by thanking those unsung heroes who put their hearts and souls into celebrating who we are as a country and sharing that so freely with every visitor.  

Prosit tassew!