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Events 42 maltatoday, Sunday, 7 September 2014 Vodafone Malta Foundation assists Europa Donna Malta The Vodafone Malta Foundation has recently assisted the Breast Care Support Group Europa Don- na Malta by providing funds for the publishing of the book 'Year of the Pale Sunf lower'. Written by Silvia Ronaglia, illustrated by Cristina Cerretti and translated by Therese Attard and Tania Attard, on the initiative of the Swiss-Ital- ian Europa Donna Young Patients Group. The book is a very useful tool for adults, parents, teachers, counsel- lors and all social and healthcare workers to familiarise themselves with the subject of how a parent might communicate a cancer diag- nosis to young children. "Speaking about the illness with adults is already hard but it be- comes all the more difficult when it comes to the children," said Rob- erta Pace, Administrator at the Vodafone Malta Foundation. "Breaking the news to the chil- dren is dreadful and we hope that through our contribution we will help Europa Donna continue to tell the story on how parents can break the ice, first among adults and then with their children." The book tells the powerful sto- ry from the point of view of two children faced with their mother's breast cancer and their gradual coming to an understanding of an illness unknown to them. It shows their inner strenght and the ability to understand and overcome the challenges of life by conquering their fears. The picture book tells a sad story with sincerity and respect and is full of hope and courage. Gertrude Abela, President of Eu- ropa Donna Malta thanked the Vo- dafone Malta Foundation and said that it is only through such contri- butions that they can continue to help and support the community. The Breast Care Support Group Europa Donna Malta is a voluntary non-profit NGO and has been ac- tive since 1989. Its mission is to raise awareness and support pa- tients and families passing through the trauma of breast cancer. The books will be distributed free to the Breast Clinic, Hospice Malta and the Public Library. Monetary policy decisions At today's meeting the Govern- ing Council of the ECB took the following monetary policy deci- sions: (1) The interest rate on the main refinancing operations of the Eurosystem will be decreased by 10basis points to 0.05%, start- ing from the operation to be set- tled on 10 September 2014. (2) The interest rate on the marginal lending facility will be decreased by 10 basis points to 0.30%, with effect from 10 Sep- tember 2014. (3) The interest rate on the de- posit facility will be decreased by 10 basis points to -0.20%, with effect from 10 September 2014. The President of the ECB will comment on the considerations underlying these decisions at a press conference starting at 2.30 p.m. CET today. Maltese ethnic entertainment in Australia New research on the Maltese in Aus- tralia has been published co-jointly by Outlook Coop and the Malta Drama Centre under the auspices of the Ministry of Education & Employ- ment. The research conducted be- tween July and December 2013 was undertaken by theatre pedagogue and author Mario Azzopardi and for the first time focuses on the enter- tainment factors denoting the Mal- tese community in Australia. The research has been compiled under the title 'Kitarri, Tombli u Te- atrin' ('Guitars, Tombola and Ama- teur Theatre') and is based on an extensive number of interviews Az- zopardi conducted in clubs and with individual persons. Most of those interviewed hail from the first gen- eration of immigrants, who arrived in Australia during the great influx of the fifties and sixties of the 20th century, in the decade following the Second World War. "This generation, says Azzopardi, "is still dominated by nostalgia and several people I interviewed refer to this phenomenon as frozen time." It is also a time, says the author, which excludes the second and third gen- eration of Maltese Australians who find little of relevance to their actual present day lives, characterized by in- fluences of the global entertainment industry. Although this has hit other ethnic groups, they never, however, negate their origins like the Maltese Austral- ians do. There are still people who try to save the final catastrophe like the attempts to revive Maltese folk singing, Maltese amateur theatre and events like gastronomic festivals. But most Maltese would prefer the parish festa in honour of the patron saint or bingo parties. The book also includes a CD with music by Vince Puli and verses by Albert Marshall, based on Lorca's drama, Yerma. Mario Azzopardi's book Kitarri, Tombli u Teatrin can be obtained at the price of EUR 15 from Outlook Coop (Tel: 21 44 1604; email: info@ horizons.com.mt) or The Malta Drama Centre (Tel: 21 220 665; email malta.drama.centre@gov.mt) Third edition of 8km Road Race at SmartCity Malta On Sunday, 28 September, SmartC- ity Malta is hosting the third edi- tion of the 8km Road Race, organ- ised by St Patrick's Athletic Club for another consecutive year. The race will start from La- guna Walk at SmartCity Malta at 8:30am, where runners will then proceed to Bighi Bay and then onto Triq il-Missjoni Taljana. From Ka- lkara, athletes will head to Xgħajra through the track around the Ka- lkara Naval Cemetry. Athletes will then descend to Xgħajra Prom- enade and return to Laguna Walk at SmartCity Malta. An 8km walkathon and a 2km junior race will also be held on the day, making it a fun-filled event for the entire family. Commenting on SmartCity Malta's support for the race, CEO of SmartCity Malta, Anthony P. Tabone said: "We are proud to as- sociate ourselves with this race for the third consecutive year, espe- cially after the success of the two previous events." "Such initiatives, such as SmartC- ity Malta's support for St Patrick's Athletic Club, ref lect the commit- ment of the project to promote a healthy work-life balance which falls in line with the work-play-live business township being designed here." Trophies, sponsored by SmartCity Malta, will be awarded to the first three male and female finishers. All participants will receive a com- memorative medal and other pro- motional give-aways from Nestlé, Gatorade, Twistees and Raysun. Application forms may be down- loaded from the website of St Patrick Athletic Club, www.st- patricksac.com. Participants can also apply online on the club's web- site where official results will be posted 24 hours after the race.