Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1197486
19 LETTERS & EDITORIAL maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 JANUARY 2020 Mikiel Galea Letters & Clarifications Appreciation: Cardinal Prospero Grech (1925-2019) THE Association of Lyceum Past Students, has lost its oldest and most Eminent member, Cardinal Prospero Grech. He died unexpectedly on Monday, 30 December 2019. His passing leaves a great void within the Lyceum Old Boys association. Cardinal Prospero (or Stanley as he often signed to us his messages), shall be greatly missed by all members and friends of ALPS. Over the past years since he became Cardinal in 2012, we have been excep- tionally close to His Eminence Car- dinal Prospero Grech. He was a very keen member of ALPS and we consider ourselves to have been truly lucky and honoured with his presence on a num- ber of special occasions here in Malta. There were instances, when His Emi- nence also met with ALPS members and assisted us to make a presentation to His Holiness Pope Francis when we organised a visit to Rome some years back. We shall never forget his cheer- ful disposition to meet with the ALPS members and friends who travelled to Rome for a general audience with the Pontiff. And, that was not the only occa- sion. We have also had the pleasure to knock on his door at the Istituto Santa Marta near the Bernini Collonade, when purely by chance, a group of ALPS members happened to visit the Vatican City whilst on an excursion from a cruise liner. All the members and friends of Ghaqda Ex-Studenti Liceo can vividly remember his soft-spoken homilies whenever we invited him to join us for some special event, like a reunion, or celebrating Holy Mass at a quaint little chapel in Pwales hamlet. He simply loved to be with his Ly- ceum comrades. The last grand event that we are proud of, was the celebra- tion of Holy Mass at St John's Co- Cathedral Valetta during March 2019, on the occasion of a 25th Anniversary Celebration from foundation date of Association of Lyceum Past Students. Always an honour to have His Emi- nence with us. We all treasure some nice memories of his gentle jokes that he liked to share and narratives from his younger years at The Lyceum Mal- ta. One of his nicest quotes was: "One Education, One Faith, One Comrade- ship in common…." May he rest in peace. Amen. George Stagno Navarra, President, ALPS Strickland Foundation I refer to the opinion piece, by Saviour Balzan, entitled 'What's next in the Egrant and Macbridge Mystery' (Sun- day, 22 December), MaltaToday. In his article, Saviour Balzan claims that Dr Mario de Marco runs the Founda- tion that owns the newspaper. This is not correct. Dr de Marco is one of five council members of the Foundation which is chaired by myself. Judge Giovanni Bonello Business disability forum A new forum – the first of its kind in Malta – aims to build closer ties between the disability and business sectors, creating a platform for discus- sion and improving dialogue between persons with a disability and business organisations. The Malta Business Disability Fo- rum, chaired by the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD), was set up officially through the signing of a Memorandum of Un- derstanding between its nine members. Apart from the CRPD, these are the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry; the Malta Employers' Association and the GRTU – Malta Chamber of SMEs as founding members. These have been joined by the MFOPD – Malta Federation Organisa- tions of Persons with Disability; the Faculty for Social Well-being; the Of- fice of the Commissioner for Mental Health; the Gozo Business Chamber and the Local Councils' Association. Based on a similar set-up as in the UK, this entity will also focus on bridg- ing the gap between employers and persons with disability. There are over 19,000 persons with a disability registered with the Commis- sion. Yet barriers to accessibility and employment for disabled people are still rife. Together, the entities forming part of the Forum will work to maximise accessibility for persons with a dis- ability in the business and employment spheres. They will also work to help bridge the gap between business people and persons with disability and promote accessibility in service provision while enhancing the career and also employ- ment aspirations of persons with dis- ability. Sandra Borg, CRPD