[WATCH] €250,000 fund to be given to 50 cultural activities

€250,000 fund to be given to 50 cultural activities • Video by Ray Attard

Parliamentary Secretary for local government Stefan Buontempo said that the government had collaborated with various entities including the Malta Arts Council and the V18 committee to come up with a culture scheme for 2015, at a press conference in Floriana earlier today.

“The government felt that certain cultural activities deserved to be helped by the €250,000 fund,” said Buontempo adding that the activities involved arts and medieval festivals among others.

Culture Minister Owen Bonnici said that the scheme to support cultural activities had started back in 2009, and that since then, local councils had continued to present activities on an annual basis. He added that the funds aimed to ensure improvements in some already successful activities to avoid stagnation.

“We need to promote sustainable activities and promotion amongst various groups as well as support local talents both for Maltese people and for tourists,” Bonnici said.

Bonnici explained that a committee made up of experts in various fields from local, touristic and cultural entities had been selected with the purpose of choosing the activities to benefit from the funds.

“The committee has been working to evaluate the proposals made over the past months, and it has also organised information seminars for local councils on how to plan activities,” Bonnici said explaining that a total of 50 activities had been chosen for the fund.

It was explained that 50 activities would benefit from the €250,000 funds, with some localities having more than one activity in the scheme.  

“We hope that these funds will help to raise the level of cultural activities in the country to the desired level ahead of 2018, when Malta becomes the Capital of Culture,” Buontempo added.

He explained that the activities would help and support the economy of the localities in question while at the same time promoting the identity, organisations and talents within that same locality.

Turism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said that the aim of funding these activities was to ensure that they would benefit ever more people and help those localities with particular needs.

“This government is aware that some localities like Marsaxlokk, St. Paul’s Bay and Swieqi face often unique challenges in having to cater both for residents and tourists,” Zammit Lewis said.

Zammit Lewis said that the next challenge the country is facing was the management of numbers of tourists.

“We want to try and change the mentality of Malta simply as a Sun and Sea destination, and explore the potential of other touristic niches like culture and agriculture among others,” Zammit Lewis said explaining that the aim was to spread tourism both over the shoulder months and in terms of location.

He explained that these efforts would lead to more stability in the market and ensure that tourism would affect all the members of society.

He added that he was looking forward to a preparation programme for the coming three years to be prepared by those gathered.

“The programme should be a run up to 2018 and it should respect the traditions and promotion of the Maltese identity,” Bonnici said.