Students can now attend free cultural activities with their Culture Pass

Students are being offered 38 cultural productions to attend under the government's Culture Pass programme, which will be reflecting the school curriculum and offered free of charge.

The initiative, an expansion of previous years' Culture Pass programmes, will now include a "menu" of cultural events, and is being made available to not only children in secondary school, but kindergarten and primary school students too, Culture Minister Owen Bonnici said.

Schools will choose which events apply to their respective students and all chosen events will be attended by the students and their accompanying teachers free of charge.

“This is the third year of Culture Pass. Last year, only secondary students could benefit from free visits to Heritage Malta sites,” Bonnici said. “Now, this is being extended to primary school and kindergarten students.”

The minister was speaking at St Benedict College Primary School in Mqabba where the ministry's cultural director Mario Azzopardi was organising a talent show involving children and local professionals. 

Valentina Schembri, Enrika Ciantar, Martina Schembri, Thea Falzon and Celine Bugeja were amongst the primary year students who showcased their talents by playing their musical instruments and presenting their artwork. 

Teatru Malta also made an appearance with an interpretative piece, featuring a puppet and mezzo soprano Clare Ghigo, transcribing Clare Azzopardi’s Il-Qtates ta' Max-Xatt for the stage.

More or Less Theatre presented an educational play on Caravaggio to the delight and laughter of the schoolchildren present, whilst Adrian-Mario Gellel spoke about the Symbol Literacy Project which takes the classroom outside the school building and exposes students to the cultural artefacts across the country. 

Bonnici said that as part of the Culture Pass activities, schools will also start organising workshops where children could meet and interact with artists. “We believe that exposing children to opportunties to use their talents will enrich their knowledge and serve as an inspiration,” Bonnici said. 

“We want culture to be a part of your everyday lives, to contribute to a higher level of happiness and competence,” he added.