Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/238322
18 Events maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 8 JANUARY 2014 Be Smart – upgrade your phone at record prices with Vodafone GETTING your hands on a smart phone has never been so affordable. Recognising your need to remain connected at all times and all places, Vodafone has brought the cheapest smartphone package on the market. At €59 it has never been so cheap to own a smart phone. This comes with 3G and a new sim card, all in GasanMamo and Island Insurance help to exhibit Mattia Preti painting in Rome a smartphone starter pack. And if that isn't enough, with your new Vodafone smartphone you can also benefit from one month of prepaid 3G access for free. Simply register your number at https://www.vodafone.com. mt/3gbfree and start sending emails and receiving messages for free. MCST staff certified in project management Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, Executive Chairman and Malta Council for Science and Technology certified staff AN intensive project management training course was recently concluded by 30 members of staff from the Malta Council for Science and Technology. Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, Executive Chairman at the Council, presented PRINCE2 Practitioner certificates to the successful training participants and congratulated them on achieving a higher than average pass rate during a ceremony held at Villa Bighi, Kalkara. Pullicino Orlando stressed that the training provided the Council with a common language and method to manage projects and hence strengthened the efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector. PRINCE2 is a project management methodology, developed by the UK government agency Office of Government Commerce (OGC). It is used extensively within the UK government as the de facto project management standard for its public projects. Each training participant who completed the PRINCE2 Foundation and PRINCE2 Practitioner courses attended a total of 40 hours of accredited training and completed approximately 20 hours of preparation and course work. This training and certification was the second part of the project ESF 4.152 Capacity Building for MCST co-financed by the European Social Fund. HSBC Malta removes subscription fee for Personal Internet Banking AS from 2 January 2014, HSBC Malta customers will start to enjoy free Personal Internet Banking, following the Bank's decision to remove the annual subscription fee. "We are removing the annual subscription fee connected with HSBC Malta`s Personal Internet Banking to further encourage the use of this online channel. As customers increase the use of online banking for their simple day to day banking requirements, HSBC's expert staff and financial advisors will have more opportunities to spend quality time with customers in our branches to discuss their wider banking needs," said HSBC Malta`s Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Paul Steel. HSBC Malta has recently upgraded its public website and Internet Bank- HSBC Malta Personal Internet Banking to be free of charge as from 2 January 2014 ing service to the HSBC Group's latest platform. This also included the introduction of the HSBC Secure Key which provides the latest standards in online security. "Customer behaviour shows a clear trend towards increased use of the internet, phone and mobile channels and with good reason as these offer the most convenient, secure and efficient ways of carrying out simple banking transactions," Steel said. Customers who hold an HSBC debit card or are subscribed to the Phone Banking service may register directly via the Bank's website hsbc.com.mt. Alternatively, new or existing customers may visit their nearest branch to be provided with this service. More information is available on the Bank's website at www.hsbc.com.mt ON the occassion of the 400th anniversary from the birth of the great master Mattia Preti who although born in Calabria spent the last decades of his life in Malta, his spectacular painting Saint Luke painting the Virgin which adorns the Franciscan Church in Valletta has been given a complete face-lift thanks to a restoration project by restorers Sante Guido and Giuseppe Mantella. This masterpiece signed by the artist F(ra).M(attia).P(reti) .F(ecit) and dated 1671 will soon be exhibited at the Accademia di San Luca in Rome and at the Palazzo Vescovile in Crotone, Calabria thanks to a part sponsorship of the transportation and insurance by a number of companies known for their love of the Maltese artistic culture. The insurance was jointly financed by GasanMamo Insurance and Malta Tourism Authority through the Maltese Embassy in Rome with the assitance of Island Insurance Brokers. Transportation was financed by Fondazione Montecristo. Julian Mamo, Managing director of GasanMamo Insurance, enphasised his company's continued commitment to contributing to saving Malta's artistic heritage in line with the company's corporate social responsibility. "It is with this in mind that GasanMamo Insurance was immediately prepared to offer its assistance when presented with such a whortwhile project," Mamo elaborated. Furthermore, he expressed his satisfaction that not only are they helping St Francis Church in preserving such special works of art, but their exposure in other countries will further promote Malta's culture and in turn promote Malta as a potential tourist destination. On his part, Lawrence Pavia, Managing Director of Island Insurance Brokers was keen to offer the company's expertise in the insurance of works of art in relation to this project. He mentioned that this is the Island's 4th project relating to Mattia Preti this year having been involved with Heritage Malta's exhibition at The Palace in Valletta ealrier in the year and recently with two other exhibitins of Mattia Preti held in Xewkija Gozo and Zurrieq. "These types of projects are not only within our line of expertise, but feature prominently in the Company's broad vision of supporting culture and the arts, something which Island Insurance Brokers have done since its establishment in 1989. Suffice to say that over the years the Company has supported artists by commissioning works of art from them and also supporting exhibitions such as this one of the Mattia Preti painting as well," Pavia said. The exhibition at the Accademia di San Luca is expected to open on 14 December until 7 January, after which it will travel to Calabria. The painting is expected to return to Malta and take back its pride of place at the St Francis Church in Valletta in the middle of February 2014.