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MALTATODAY 11 December 2019 Midweek

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13 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 11 DECEMBER 2019 CULTURE OLIVER Scicluna, Chairper- son of the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disabil- lity and the company Camilleri & Cuschieri Consulting Engi- neers, represented by Charles Cuschieri, co-founder of the of the company, are tho win- ners of this years' Mons. Mikiel Azzopardi Award. This was announced by Fr Martin Micallef, Director of Id-Dar tal-Providenza, dur- ing the annual concert by the band of the Armed Forces of Malta that took place on Friday (6th December) at the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Paul in Mdina in aid of the Siġġiewi Home on the occasion of the International Day for Persons with Dis- ability. This Award, that was launched in 1955, is given every year in recognition of the voluntary contribution by persons in the disability sec- tor in Malta and Gozo as well as persons and entities that help Id-Dar tal-Providenza in its work. Oliver Scicluna was ap- pointed Chairperson of the National Commisskion for Persons with Disability in March 2014. Presently he is serving on various councils and boards on the national level. He is also Vice Chair- person of the Foundation for the Accessibility of Informa- tion Technology. He served as Chairperson of the Action Committee for a Just Society, which was set up to give ad- vice at the preparation stage of the National Policy about Disability. In June 2016, Oliver was ap- pointed as the first Commis- sioner for the Rights of Per- sons with Disability. Camilleri & Cuschieri Con- sulting Engineers, a company gthat provide consultancy services in the engineer- ing sectir, was established in 1979 by the late Eng. Albert G. Camilleri and Eng. Charles Cuschieri and this year it is commemorating its 40th An- niversary. The association of Camill- eri & Cuschieri with Id-Dar tal-Providenza took off when Mgr. Lawrence Gatt was ap- pointed Director of the Home in 1987. Since then, the com- pany chose to support the Home with professional help as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility. In 2012, Eng. Cuschieri was also given the "Excellence for Leadership Award" by the Malta Chamber of Engi- neers. He is also a Fellow of the Institution of Engineer- ing and Technology of the United Kingdom. The concert by the band of the Armed Forces of Malta was under the distinguished patronage of the President of Malta, H.E. Dr George Vella who was accompanied by Mrs. Vella. In a short concluding speech, Dr Vella said we talk a lot about dignity but persons with disabilities al- ways had dignity it was the population in general that deprived them of their dig- nity because of its attitudes towards them. Thank God this attitude has changed through legislation and education so that persons with disability can now tru- ly have their respect, dignity and rights. The special address of the evening on the occasion of the International Day for Per- sons with Disability was by Mr Michael Debattista, him- self a blind person since his early twenties. Two winners of the Mons. Mikiel Azzopardi Award 2019 ON Saturday 21 December 2019, Herit- age Malta is hosting a Winter Solstice at the prehistoric Mnajdra Temples. The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year and is the first day of winter. Part of Mnajdra, which was one of the Neolithic complexes built between the 4th and 3rd millennia BC, was constructed to mark the position of the rising sun on the first day of each season. Participants will watch the sun rise as the first sun's rays light up the very edge of a megalith found along the passage connecting the first pair of chambers to the inner chambers. Since the people who built these buildings are thought to have been farmers, their livelihood depended heavily on agriculture and probably, the changing seasons had a special significance to them. Possibly, gather- ings of people and celebrations in this area during this period have taken place since ancient times. The meet- ing place is outside Ħaġar Qim Park Visitor Centre at 6am. Tickets will be €25 per person and €15 for Heritage Malta members. Tickets are available from Heritage Malta sites and muse- ums, and https://shop.heritagemalta. org/index.asp?eventid=640 Relive an ancient experience Chairperson of the Commission for the Right of persons with Disability Oliver Scicluna (left), Charles Cuschieri (center) and President George Vella (right)

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