Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/441179
Events 27 maltatoday, Sunday, 4 January 2015 Having been in the business for over 40 years, the ROCS Group has grown to become a trustworthy brand, with ROCS Travel at its forefront. Syn- onymous with outstanding and well- priced travel, its years as one of Mal- ta's top travel agencies have resulted in over 30,000 satisfied customers making use of its services. At this year's Lufthansa Agents Awards Ceremony, held on Wednes- day 26th November, all of ROCS Travel's hard work and constant drive to better its array of products and services were celebrated when the company was given the coveted Lufthansa Travel Agents' Award. "We were thrilled to receive this award," says Rachel Vella, ROCS Group Director. "ROCS' primary aim has always been to deliver a sterling service to all our esteemed clients and this goes to show that we've managed to do just that. We are far from perfect however we do go the extra mile. "This is only the beginning, howev- er, as we constantly strive to improve and innovate. But, this way, we know that what we've been doing has been working," adds Vella. "Ultimately, over 30,000 people cannot be wrong in choosing ROCS Travel!" The Lufthansa Travel Agents' Award is given out on the basis of achievement in leisure travel serv- ices, quality assurance and commit- ted customer care, and demonstrates a company's willingness and ability to make travelling more customer- oriented. ROCS Travel would like to thank both Lufthansa for this honourable award, as well as the 30,000 custom- ers who, at one point or another, have made use of its services. MCA's BeSmartOnline! project ends December 2014 marks the end of the second consecutive implementation period of BeSmartOnline!, a project co-funded by the European Com- mission. For the past four years BeS- martOnline! has been the national flagship project set up with the aim of proactively raise awareness and edu- cate children and young people, par- ents and carers, and educators on the safer use of the Internet by children. In addition, after extensive volun- teer training, support to those who require assistance related to being safe online is given through the na- tional Helpline 179. The project, in close collaboration with the Cy- ber Crime Unit of the Malta Police Force, has also embarked on a fight against illegal content, particularly online child sexual abuse, through the establishment of a Hotline which allows the public to anonymously report such content. This report- ing mechanism is available at www. childwebalert.gov.mt The project is coordinated by the Malta Communications Authority (MCA) and implemented through a consortium which also includes the Foundation for Social Welfare Services and the Office of the Com- missioner for Children. Jose Herrera stated, "one of the major strengths of this initiative is that it brings togeth- er a number of key national stake- holders which contribute their areas of specialisation for the well-being of children, both at implementation level and also through various con- sultation fora." Amongst the many awareness rais- ing initiatives, through a strong col- laboration with the Directorate for Quality and Standards in Education, the Secretariat for Catholic Educa- tion and the Independent School As- sociation, BeSmartOnline! has suc- cessfully implemented an ambitious school campaign. A total of approxi- mately 9,000 students in all Form 3 and Year 6 in Malta and Gozo partici- pated in an interactive lesson specifi- cally designed to empower children to be responsible of their digital lives and critically evaluate risks that they might encounter online. Special attention was also given to children that were identified as be- ing more susceptible to online risks. The Office of the Commissioner for Children was instrumental in coordinating a number of tailored sessions for such vulnerable groups and their respective carers. Helen D'Amato, Commissioner for Chil- dren expressed her belief that this project was a perfect example of how children's voice was listened to. This opportunity was given to the children through a Youth Panel and other various consultation meetings held with students in order to gather feedback on the initiatives that were being planned by BeSmartOnline! A number of information notes on the good use of social networking sites and against cyberbullying were printed and disseminated amongst children and educators. The Office was also selected by the European Commission to coordiante the Pan- EU Youth Panel which takes place annually in Luxembourg. Mark Spiteri, project coordina- tor – BeSmartOnline!, explained the pivotal role the supporting structures surrounding children play in ensur- ing the safety of children online. In view of this, 600 teachers participat- ed in training seminars addressed by both local and foreign experts. Par- ents were also given the opportunity to attend sessions on digital parent- ing which were held at a number of local councils and schools. The Argus Group at The Economist Gala Dinner Finance Minister Professor Edward Scicluna together with the Argus Insurance Agencies Limited (AIAL) senior management team, includ- ing; Argus Group Chairperson Sheila Nicoll (second from right), Group CEO Alison Hill (second from left), AIAL Chief Executive Vanessa Borg (far right) and Group Executive Vice President - Strategic Development, Cindy Campbell (far left), at the recent The Economist Gala Dinner. The Argus Group is an interna- tional network offering market- leading insurance solutions. It has specific expertise in helping the governments of small island states to develop new pension and health- insurance legislation and solutions tailored to meet their specific finan- cial and demographic challenges. More information can be found at www.argus.com.mt www.gourmettoday.recipes ROCS Travel awarded Lufthansa Travel Agents' Award 2014 Euro changeover in Lithuania and exchange of Lithuanian Litas Lithuania adopted the euro on 1 January 2015, replacing its national currency, the litas, with the single currency. As a service to the public, all central banks in the euro area, in- cluding the Central Bank of Malta, will exchange, without charge, litas banknotes for euro during January and February 2015. Litas banknotes may be exchanged from 2 January to 27 February 2015 at the Central Bank of Malta Annexe at St James's Counterguard, Val- letta, from Monday to Friday from 08:30 to 13:00. Banknotes will be exchanged at the irrevocably fixed conversion rate of €1=LTL 3.45280 up to a limit of EUR1,000 for any transaction on any one day. Images of exchangeable litas ban- knotes can be viewed on the website of the European Central Bank at: http://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/ex- change/lt/html/index.en.html