Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1206972
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 2 FEBRUARY 2020 EYEWITNESS Peace out Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna met residents who reside at the Peace Lab in Hal Far during a pastoral visit held on Tuesday 21 January 2020. Fr Dijonisju Mintoff administers this centre, where currently 52 men, all asylum seekers, reside: most of them are from Mali, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Ivory Coast, Sudan, Cameroon, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Iran. Photographer Ian Noel Pace captured the moment when a group of asylum seekers and the Archbishop joined hands as a sign of unity. On a daily basis, before supper, Peace Lab residents put their fists together and shout 'One Family'. In a message to residents, Scicluna recounted the story of St Paul, whose shipwreck in Malta and written in the Bible has given the island a strong Pauline tradition: "My message to you is a message of hope and we need to pray – whether to God, to Allah – we need to pray that we would have more people like Fr Dionisio. You can't clone him but we need more people like you, to have the courage to be prophets. And of course we need to give a future to this place. "Fr Dionisio, when I see these men I ask myself, who will take care of them? Who will take care of these guys? But we need also young people because you also grow, we all do – we always have more candles on the cake every year – and so we need also young people to be able to help this Peace Lab. "So you should feel part of our family but you know it is not easy, it is not easy, but I am here to give hope and tell you: you are welcome. God bless you." IAN NOEL PACE Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs Parliamentary Secretariat for European Funds PRE-ANNOUNCEMENT Call for aquaculture (innovation) project proposals co-financed through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund 2014-2020 The European Maritime and Fisheries Operational Programme for Malta in respect of the current programming period provides funding opportunities to the fishing and aquaculture industries and related coastal communities to help them adapt to ever-changing sectoral conditions whilst fostering their economical resilience and ecological sustainability. The Fund will be of assistance in reaching the objectives of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy and support the implementation of the Integrated Maritime Policy, as delineated in pertinent Regulation (EU) No. 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council. The Funds and Programmes Division is hereby informing potential beneficiaries that a call for aquaculture (innovation) project proposals will be launched on 03 February 2020 for the measure below: Article 47 Measure II.1 Innovation Deadline for submission of Application Forms: 30 March 2020 This call has a total allocation of circa €800,000.00 in public eligible funding (European Union and Malta shares). The Managing Authority reserves the right to increase or decrease the said allocation. An information session will be held on 13 February 2020 10.00am at the Division's premises in Triq il-Kukkanja, Sta. Venera. The Application Form and annexes can be downloaded from the following web link as from 03 February 2020: http://eufunds.gov.mt/en/EU%20Funds%20Programmes/Agricultural%20Fisheries%20Fund/Pages/ News-and-Events.aspx More information and/or registration for the said information session (until 12 February) can be requested on 22001108 or via e-mail to fpd.meae@gov.mt or on www.eufundsmalta.gov.mt. Maritime and Fisheries Operational Programme 2014-2020 Project part-financed by the European Union European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) Co-financing rate: 75% European Union funds; 25% national funds Investing in sustainable fisheries and aquaculture