Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1069175
16 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 9 JANUARY 2019 CULTURE THE 2019 edition of the Vallet- ta International Baroque Festi- val will like last year be com- plemented by a symposium on the Baroque Age presented by the International Institute for Baroque Studies at the Uni- versity of Malta in conjunction with the Friends of the Manoel Theatre. The theme of this year's event which will be enhanced by a number of video clips concerns 'Amazing Specta- cles of the Baroque Age'. The keynote address on The Politics of Baroque Spectacle will be delivered by the direc- tor of the Institute, Profes- sor Denis De Lucca and four eminent speakers - Prof. V. A. Cremona, Dr. C. Busuttil, Dr. P. Xuereb and Dr Åsa Tillman from the Drottingholm Thea- tre in Sweden. They will speak about various aspects of out- door and indoor spectacles in the Baroque Age. A number of short video clips will complement the presentations by the speakers. This is a symposium not to be missed. It is being held on Thurs- day 10 January at St James Cavalier, Valletta at 09:00. Entrance is free but booking required. For more information and booking please contact Ms Cecilia Xuereb on c.xuer39@ hotmail.com Those amazing spectacles of the Baroque Age! MAPFRE Malta collaborate with 'Smiling with Jerome' to raise awareness towards autism MAPFRE Middlesea together with MAPFRE MSV Life col- laborated with the Smiling with Jerome Foundation to help raise awareness about autism as well as to provide help towards a particular case involving a girl who was diag- nosed with the condition at the age of 2. Smiling with Jerome Founda- tion is an organisation which seeks to provide help to those who are truly in need of it. Their mission is "to provide support, assistance and com- passion to individuals who are passing through difficult times, with particular empha- sis on those who have been di- agnosed with cancer or other serious ailments." As such, in order to help raise money for that case, a casual after-work hot dog event was organised within the company. A total of a €1,000 was raised during this event, and the companies doubled that amount for a sum of €2,000. These funds were donated to the Smiling with Jerome Foun- dation in contribution to this particular case. This donation was given to- wards a particular case about a girl whom today is non-verbal at the age of 6. She is currently able to com- municate through an iPad ap- plication which speaks out the words when typed. Unfortunately, as she gets older, the limitations of this device are becoming more prevalent. These funds will aid the young girl in obtaining a more sufficient device in order to speed up this process by help- ing her formulate phrases in a more concise, effective and ef- ficient manner. The scope of this event was to help the young girl in com- batting her condition as well as raising awareness for those who have been diagnosed with autism. Commonly described as be- ing an illness that affects brain functionality, this is prevalent in three areas, namely commu- nication and the impediment of speech, finding difficulties in socialisation and interact- ing with peers, and repetitive behaviours that manifest their daily routine. Notwithstanding this, MAP- FRE Malta intends on con- tinuing to support this initia- tive in the future in order help those who are diagnosed with autism and other such condi- tions. MAPFRE Middlesea p.l.c. (C-5553) is authorised by the Malta Financial Services Au- thority (MFSA) to carry on both Long Term and General Business under the Insurance Business Act, Cap 403 of the Laws of Malta. MAPFRE MSV Life p.l.c. (C- 15722) is authorised by the Malta Financial Services Au- thority to carry on Long Term Business under the Insurance Business Act, Cap 403 of the Laws of Malta. Both entities are regulated by MFSA.