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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 26 MARCH 2014 9 News The universal voice British storyteller Rachel Rose Reid speaks to TEODOR RELJIC ahead of her visit to Malta this weekend, as she prepares to give a workshop on storytelling for children and an evening of 'poetry, storytelling and song' WHAT would you say is the 'sta- tus' of the contemporary story- teller in today's day and age? With the advent – and, arguably, oversaturation – of digital me- dia, it's often been said that for- mats like stand-up comedy may be the 'last bastion' of tradition- al live storytelling. Do you agree with this (at least to some degree) and how would you say your own work is reacting to or against the contemporary milieu? Stand-up comedy is not the last bastion of traditional live story- telling, because traditional live storytelling is the last bastion (or rather, ongoing multi-layered practice) of traditional live story- telling! Stand-up comedy definite- ly comes within that, of course, but storytelling – whether of myth and legend, or of true-life tales is live and present throughout the world. Modern society has grown quite obsessed with viewing the arts through a particular hun- ger for fame and celebrity. Many forms of art are more subtle and less in need of a stadium concert tour to prove their worth. Any- one who has sat around a fire on a summer night for long enough, will have found the hunger for stories present in small gatherings and intimate moments like these. To say that storytelling is a dying art is to be blinkered to the many practices of this art form around the world, formal or informal, hi- larious or transformative, in dis- tant cultures or trickling off our own tongues every day. Would you say there is a fun- damental difference to perform- ing for children, as opposed to a more 'general' adult audience? Of course! Storytelling for chil- dren is totally different. When working with children it becomes an incredible educational tool, and we engage all different kinds of young listeners through using interactivity, physicality, song, call and response. These techniques take care of the most twitchy lis- tener, and engage them in the process of the story at every step. An adult audience still has such twitchiness, but has learned how to internalise, and even hide it, out of politeness. So I work to engage your sensory memory, stimulate your imagina- tion, give you more challenging narratives that match the emo- tional complexity of adult life. It's unusual and exciting that we can all engage in the same story, while each seeing our own unique 'mov- ie' of it in our minds. When you're performing abroad – as you'll be doing in Malta – how do you pay atten- tion to transmitting what 'works' about both of them in a way that can travel and be relevant and comprehensive to all? As you know, my family trav- elled through many countries, and my stories, too, are sensitively gathered from many places. One of the best things about storytell- ing is the surprise and delight we can experience when the story of another person meets or matches with something of our own. On a related note, how do you feel about the fact that English remains the lingua franca you're working in? What would you say are some of the advantages and disadvantages of this? I would love to be able to speak many more languages. Perhaps that would be my one wish! Each language has its character and conventions. When researching stories from other cultures I have to be ex- tra vigilant in my research, since much is truly lost in translation. A friend of mine who tells folk stories from India speaks about satirical jokes that he has heard re- told by misguided English speak- ers who assume that all old stories from India are reverent and holy! Rachel Rose Reid will be giving a workshop entitled 'Skills for Tell- ing Stories to Children' at 11am and 'Broken Hearts and Unbound Dreams: An Evening of Poetry, Sto- ry and Song' at 8pm. Both events will take place at St James Cava- lier, Valletta. For more information log on to: http://www.britishcoun- cil .org /malt a-ar t s-and-cult ure - rachel-rose-reid.htm Rachel Rose Reid Minimum standards for elderly care homes launched for consultation MIRIAM DALLI PERSONCENTERED care, dignity, privacy, physical and mental wellbe- ing, self-fulfilment, autonomy and empowerment, equality and the right to complain and legal recourse are the principles underpinning the national minimum standards for elderly care homes. The consultative document has been launched for a three-month consultation period ahead of a final document that will be legal binding. Launching the document during a visit at Zammit Clapp Hospital, par- liamentary secretary for the elderly Franco Mercieca said setting mini- mum standards was a very impor- tant step in elderly care. The drafting of the document took its time, but according to Mercieca this led to 38 good standards being proposed. "It is not only about establishing the size of a room but ensuring that care given to the elderly is patient oriented and improving their qual- ity of living inside the homes," he said. An elderly woman asked whether a round the clock doctor would be available at the homes. Noting that it was a "valid" point, Mercieca said one of the targets of the national minimum standards would be to ensure that a continuous assess- ment of medicines prescribed to the elderly takes place. The proposal for an individual care plan suggests that this plan should reassessed every six months. Mercieca conceded that this would inevitably impact the number of nurses and care workers at every home. The national minimum stand- ards will require all elderly homes – whether run by the state or pri- vately owned – to adhere to these requirements. The junior minister said most of the homes today al- ready adhere to these requirements. However, timeframes will be set to allow residential homes to conform themselves to these requirements. The introduction of a grandfather clause – a provision in which an old rule continues to apply to some ex- isting situations – may also be ap- plied. The document also calls on elderly homes to promote a culture of active ageing, insisting that the mission of the home should go beyond the tra- ditional concept of elderly care. "The home must enable residents to realise their full potential for physical, social and mental wellbe- ing," the document reads. Among the 38 minimum stand- ards there is also reference to the passing away of a resident, where it should be ensured that at the time of their death, staff will treat them and their family with care, sensitiv- ity and respect according to their religious beliefs. Pensions, marriage grants to be calculated online TIM ATTARD MONTALTO THE Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity Marie Louise Co- leiro Preca yesterday launched the transition towards a more digital strategy within the department of social security. The transition forms part of a na- tional digital strategy announced on Monday. Under the digital transition, pen- sions and marriage grants will now be calculated automatically and made accessible online. Describing the amount of paper the department utilises on a daily basis as "phenomenal", Coleiro Preca said that a shift towards digi- tisation would result in a significant drop in paper use, the excessive waiting period for applicants, and also reduced expenses – amount- ing to €50,000 a year – in the trans- portation of files and paper-related material. The soon-to-be President said that the space which these files take up in the department, and in others, would be better utilized. Parliamentary Secretary for com- petitiveness Edward Zammit Lewis said that the transition was a "clear example" of government's direc- tion. He said that an all-round ICT strategy could result in "a more ef- fective public service", citing a re- duction in customer-response time and a more efficient filing system as being parts of government's process of simplification. "Malta must strive to become a knowledge society," he said. "And it is unacceptable that the level of ICT literacy in certain sectors of our so- ciety is still very low." Download the MaltaToday App now Franco Mercieca (centre)