Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1190498
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 DECEMBER 2019 21 COMMERCIAL THE Zero Waste Future, a programme funded by The Coca-Cola Founda- tion, aims to accelerate the behavioural change required to make the circular economy and recycling part of people's hearts, minds and everyday routines. To this end a clean-up of the St Thomas Bay area in Marsaskala was organised in collaboration with EKO- SKOLA. Last Sunday, students, parents and teachers from St Edward's College joined representatives of AKTI Project and Research Centre, an NGO tasked with the implementation of the Zero Waste Future Programme, and repre- sentatives of GSD Marketing Ltd, to clean up the bay area. Prior to this clean-up, these students participated in an educational session focused on raising more awareness re- garding the impact that litter has on aquatic environment. During this clean-up, 70kg of waste was collected from a 2sq.km-area consisting of rocky coastline, a sandy beach and a public garden. The litter collected was catalogued on a stand- ardized Ocean Conservancy data card and disposed of responsibly. The Zero Waste Programme will carry out four more costal clean-ups in collaboration with Ekoskola. The data will be analysed and will support the drafting of proposals on how to further eliminate marine litter that will be put forward to all relevant stakeholders Zero Waste Future programme organises clean up of St Thomas Bay area MALTA, through its endeavour for ex- cellence has given the public and experts SIntegraM; an EU project, financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the Planning Authority. The spaces people live in, the maps they try to understand in order to reach a destination, the 3D worlds kids adapt to and the complex datasets that academics and policy experts delve in, needed to be integrated, translated and transformed in a structure that can ex- press itself into simple readable infor- mation. SIntegraM sought and achieved such through its project targets where data is transformed into a form that is now understood by many and readily avail- able on their mobile, tablet or laptop: the map. Moving away from the cumbersome physical large maps towards an immer- sive scrollable data is what was sought through the project. A project that serves as an innovative enterprise that has revolutionised data as we know it: from 2D, it is converting Malta in 3D, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and now Mixed Reality. Malta, through the PA and over 40 en- tities, embarked on an embryonic idea in 1995, through an ERDF (156) project in the 2007-2013 ERDF programme, through the current programming pe- riod 2014-2020 as rendered through SIntegraM as posited for the 2021-2027 foresight programme being conceptual- ised. This long process was envisaged to take data from different entities and fi- nally deliver them to the public in easily readable forms. A project 32 years in the making, is no easy endeavour, with drivers as the University academic Professor Saviour Formosa, the PA Chairman Perit Vince Cassar, the PA EC Johann Buttigieg, the relative Ministries and ownership of the Permanent Secretaries, such a national drive has rendered results. From paper-based data to digital forms, such was transformed into mean- ingful information that in turn created knowledge and evidenced-based policy making. The far-reaching concept has made inroads in how we view social change and enhance the well-being of societies. SIntegraM has integrated data, ex- perts, policy-makers and decision- takers, by given society a wide range of software, technologies and process that render power for information handing to the general public and experts alike. And this through the humble map. SIntegraM has given Malta the most advanced data scanning technologies, data portals and readily available infor- mation that is set to serve society for the next decade. The collaboration of entities will help to enhance the social well-being as the network created and the training ren- dered has placed SIntegraM as a fore- runner to future research and policy- making. FIMBANK recently hosted a reception for its local corporate clients. This event served as an ideal platform, where the Bank's cli- ents had the opportunity to interact with Relationship Managers and senior man- agement, in a casual setting. The Chairman and CEO of FIMBank ad- dressed those present, thanking them for their loyalty, continued support and con- sistent business with the Bank. Emphasis was made on the Bank's grow- ing real estate unit, which started off with two employees and now requires a comple- ment of eleven. In spite of the escalating costs of development, stricter controls and regulations, the Bank's Real Estate business has continued to flourish. FIMBank has secured a niche in this com- petitive market and it is part of the busi- ness development strategy of the Bank, to increase its real estate asset base. The Bank's senior management also high- lighted its cash management offering, un- derlining international settlements as a key product of its service repertoire. Together with its strong standing in the international settlements front, FIMBank is positioning itself to offer a wide range of corporate banking solutions to Maltese and international clients for their day to day business needs. Thanks to its product portfolio, the Bank is in a position to provide a framework with- in which its customers can look forward to improving their business profitability. The key theme which was consistent throughout the entire event is that FIM- Bank will continue servicing its existing loy- al customer base, attracting new customers and introduce innovative products which will help them to adapt and succeed in the evolving economy. FIMBank holds corporate clients' reception Understanding social well-being through space