Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1533584
11 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 MARCH 2025 meets Vassalli: Kurt Meli's teach Maltese Gen Z style "The moments I enjoy learning the most is when I am not aware I am learning," Meli said. While heaping praise on the Maltese Department at the Uni- versity of Malta, Meli said some- times the way the language is taught, fails to give it the respect it deserves. "I want to provide a fresh per- spective," he said. "For example, when we teach Maltese poetry, we fail to get into the crux of what the poems represent, and this tends to lead people into not appreciating the magic of Maltese literature." The creative process behind the reel For Kurt Meli, inspiration is no problem, saying he tries to chan- nel what is going on around him in popular culture, or his personal life, into his content. "It started with me drawing in- spiration from what I was learn- ing during my linguistics class, but nowadays I draw inspiration from whatever is being discussed nationally," he said. But sometimes an idea just pops into his mind. "Like for example the word sulluzzu (hiccups) where does it come from? And I just made a reel." Kurt also said it takes more than just sitting on the sofa and press- ing record. "Almost every time I prepare a script. Sometimes the videos are spontaneous, but others I want to make sure that a number of points get across," he said. "I also try to research the topic a bit before- hand." He also thinks to himself: "What message do I want to get out from the video?" "It's this sort of internal mono- logue I have with myself through- out the day in the lead up to film- ing the bit," Kurt said. A mostly positive public reaction In the past six months Kurt has slowly risen to fame, and is man- aging to secure steady viewership on his social media pages. He said the reaction has been "very positive", and appreciates the fact that people are now stop- ping him in the street to tell him how much they enjoy his videos. "To have helped someone ap- preciate Maltese a bit more, and to have them take the time to tell me how much they enjoyed my videos is a blessing," he said. But social media can sometimes have its dark corners. "In some rare instances I had people calling me a faggot (pufta)," he said. "But it does not affect me that much. I have experienced this hate way before I started record- ing the videos." In one of his videos, Kurt flipped the situation on its head, and post- ed himself correcting grammatical mistakes by those who tried to in- sult him. "It's easy to focus on the nega- tive, but I make a conscious effort to remember these are the abso- lute minority, and the majority do not care about my sexuality, but my content," he said. Kurt Meli uses his phone, social media, popular culture and a hint of sassiness to deconstruct the Maltese language Stephen Vella, ID Card number 556690M, declare his intention to register for an Employment Agency license in accordance to article 23 of the Employment and Training Services Act, 1990 (Act XXVIII of 1990). The activities proposed to be carried out are the following: 1. Recruitment Consultancy. 2. Interviewing, selection and placements of candidates in employment. 3. Recruitment of persons from abroad to employment in Malta or in an EU member state. 4. Recruitment of persons in Malta for employment in Malta or in an EU member state. 5. Advertising of the filling of vacancies. 6. Keeping a register of applicants for employment. The Applicant Address: Suzanne Court B, No. 9, Situated at 4th Floor Level Triq Il-Prinjolata, Ta'Xbiex, Malta XBX 1131