Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/345566
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 13 JULY 2014
News
9
Speaking to Valletta's people
"VALLETTA residents are, in gen-
eral, very proud of this title, yet they
need to fully comprehend that they
are, as all Maltese, the real protago-
nists."
This appears to be the primary mis-
sion of Pawlu Mizzi, who is spear-
heading the Valletta Forum – a con-
sultative branch of the Valletta 2018
Foundation, the entity responsible for
ensuring that Malta's cultural life is
in good shape come 2018, when both
Valletta and the rest of Malta will take
on the title of European Capital for
Culture.
The Valletta Forum is an advisory
body that generates recommenda-
tions to the Valletta 2018 Foundation,
on matters of social and public rele-
vance, with particular reference to the
reality of Valletta and its residents. In
view of this, the Valletta Forum's aim
is to sustain a continuous and healthy
stream of dialogue between the Val-
letta 2018 Foundation and the resi-
dents of Valletta, and those in contact
with the organisations represented on
the Forum.
As president of the Forum, Mizzi
said that one of the main challenges
at this point is to simply establish a
space in which Valletta residents can
both air their concerns and actively
participate in the V18 project.
The Forum works hand in hand
with various associations within the
city of Valletta, but Mizzi is aware
that reaching out to the residents who
do not form part of associations will
be one of the Forum's more urgent
priorities.
"During our last meeting, we de-
cided to open up doors for a few
residents who wished to contribute to
the discussion along with the various
associations. At this stage it became
clear that one of our major concerns
is that the majority of residents are
not enrolled within organisations so
it is of utmost importance to rethink
ways of reaching the most distant
resident," Mizzi said.
He reiterated his desire to see the
Forum as a "direct link" through
which the Foundation is targeting the
city and citizens' dimension within its
wider remit.
"This helps the city's sustainability,
as residents become an integral part
of the long-term cultural, economic
and social development."
So what have been some of the
residents' most common – and most
frequent – complaints ever since the
Forum was first set up?
Mizzi said that some misconcep-
tions about what the Valletta 2018
Foundation and its remit is needed
to be clarified first and foremost. Ac-
cording to Mizzi, a large
number of residents be-
lieved that V18 existed
to cater to complaints
residents may have about
the city, or that it is sim-
ply a body which culti-
vates standalone artistic
projects.
"With most residents
and associations having
to deal with various lo-
gistical inconveniences,
we did have to face their
reactions about this real-
ity. We also needed and
still need to convince
them to believe that they
can come up with col-
laborative ideas that can
indeed take life," Mizzi
said.
As far as the immediate
future is concerned, Miz-
zi flags up two upcoming
'community projects'
which will aim to put the
Forum's philosophy into
practice: with 'identity'
and 'food' being the core
themes at play.
'Belti' is a project the
Foundation is undertak-
ing in collaboration with
St James Cavalier and
St Elmo Primary School, which aims
to "shed light on notions of identity
among the residents of Valletta.
"What does it mean to be defined
as a person living in Valletta? How
is Valletta a home rather than just a
city to its residents? Within the areas
of music, art and drama, the students
will get to create artistic results that
represent these driving concepts."
Meanwhile, L-Ikla t-Tajba will be
– as its name suggests – a cooking
project which invites Valletta people
to work with a professional chef, and
build their own signature menu from
fresh, local ingredients. The project
and workshops will take place over
the summer, and showcase during
Notte Bianca on 4 October.
Such community projects, Mizzi
said, "encourage Valletta residents to
embrace the artistic in their lives, and
take a central role in the European
Capital of Culture project".
Mizzi broadly defines the Valletta
2018 Foundation's remit as having
the "logistics" of the European Capi-
tal for Culture as its main priority
right now – while the Forum is more
actively concerned with seeking out
and enabling "the human capacity of
our people".
"We need to keep discovering, fos-
tering and highlighting the various
talents that lie within our communi-
ties. And indeed there are many."
treljic@mediatoday.com.mt
As the consultative branch of the Valletta 2018 Foundation, the Valletta Forum has aimed
to serve as a bridge between Valletta residents and the foundation, as the capital – along
with the rest of Malta – gears itself up to take on the role of European Capital for Culture.
TEODOR RELJIC speaks to the man at the helm of the Forum, Pawlu Mizzi
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