Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1399957
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 AUGUST 2021 14 COMMERCIAL THE University of Malta has officially been accorded a UN- ESCO Chair in Global Adult Education. This is the result of a collec- tive effort by the University, the Malta Commission to UN- ESCO, Malta's Ambassador to UNESCO and the Ministry of Education and Employment The Chair's incumbent is Pro- fessor Peter Mayo from the University of Malta's Depart- ment of Arts, Open Communi- ties and Adult Education, Fac- ulty of Education. The Chair involves twinning with the University of Kalyani in West Bengal, India. As part of the work package, there are plans to re-estab- lish the ICAE (International Council for Adult Education) flagship adult education jour- nal Convergence - originally founded by the late J. R Kidd -as an electronic open access outlet. There are also plans to offer the University MA in Adult Education internationally and online. There is hope that the book series on International Issues in Adult Education Professor Mayo has been editing for Brill Sense, and which is now going into its 34th published volume, will also be connected with this Chair. This is the first time ever that a UNESCO Chair has been es- tablished at the University of Malta. In officially announcing the news communicated to him by UNESCO, Malta 's Ambas- sador to this global institu- tion, Joseph Vella Gauci wrote " It is with great pleasure and satisfaction that I receive the news of the favourable evalua- tion of the University of Mal- ta's request for the establish- ment of a UNESCO Chair on Global Adult Education. This proposed UNESCO chair's mandate falls within the goals of SDG 4, i.e. to ensure inclu- sive and equitable quality ed- ucation and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. As it is also one of the iden- tified deliverables being un- dertaken in the context of the University of Malta's Strategic Plan 2020-2025, and coincides with the University's ambition to further internationalise its campus and community, I am very confident that the admin- istration of our University will be seizing this opportunity of Malta's first ever in-house UN- ESCO Chair to make a success story in the adult education sector." First-ever UNESCO Chair at the University of Malta Professor Peter Mayo OVER the past months Malta's Research Innovation and Development Trust (RIDT) and Piscopo Gar- dens ran a fundraising campaign to raise funds for medical research in areas that primarily affect chil- dren. Customers who shopped at Piscopo Gardens dur- ing the campaign, were encouraged to add a small donation to their bill at cash point, which went towards the Superheroes for Research Campaign. At the end of July, the Director of Piscopo Gar- dens, Vinny Piscopo, presented a donation to the Rector of the University of Malta and Chairperson of RIDT Professor Alfred Vella in the presence of RIDT CEO Wilfred Kenely and Senior Executive Sarah-Lee Zammit. Piscopo said many are fighting ongoing battles, and this is done in silence. "It is our duty to help provide children with the best quality of life pos- sible – and we now pass the baton to the very ca- pable UM researchers to utilise these funds to the best of their abilities", she said. Vella said that ground-breaking research cannot happen without the financial support of public and private entities, and that it is so uplifting to note that entities like Piscopo Gardens are responding to such appeals. Piscopo Gardens present donation to University's Research Trust for medical research