Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/467065
Events 28 maltatoday, Sunday, 22 February 2015 Vassallo Group Malta celebrates its very first Arkati Foundation Day Sports, music and culture - Emirates Airline spices up exciting sponsorship additions Flamenco raises funds for cancer research Carnival celebrations at Laguna Walk, SmartCity Malta well- attended Vassallo Group Malta dedicated a day to celebrate the Arkati Founda- tion Day. The Arkati Foundation is an internal charity run by the group. The aim behind the foundation is to involve and encourage employees to make donations towards the Arkati Fund. The Arkati Foundation utilises the funds to help employees who have been affected by extenuating circum- stances, such as illness, the death of a relative, or other misfortunes. "We have always wanted to safe- guard the safety of our employees because we have their interests at our heart. This Foundation helped even further to gather all employees to- gether in supporting the foundation, by giving their personal donations towards an important cause". Dona- tions by employees are done be offer- ing a number of working hours which are deducted from their salaries. The Arkati Foundation was estab- lished in 1991 and until today it has helped a number of employees. Vari- ous employees representing the com- panies which form part of Vassallo Group, have been chosen to be the Foundation's Ambassadors with their main task is being that of encourag- ing more employees to be part of the Foundation. Until today over 50 % of all employees are active members in the Foundation. This year's event was characterized by the presentation of certificates to all the Arkati Foundation Ambas- sadors. Joe Saliba, President of the Arkati Foundation thanked all the ambassadors for their hard work and continue encouraged them to get more employees on board for such an important cause. Throughout the day, over 1600 em- ployees wore an Arkati Foundation T- shirt to promote this initiative. Saliba together with representatives from the Arkati Foundation Board visited various employees at all CareMalta homes, at Construction sites, at Ca- teressence and Vassallo Group's head office to reiterate the importance of such initiative. "We want the employees to feel committed and be part of the foun- dation. That is why we would like more employees on board with us. "commented Saliba. Later on the day, Saliba visited a former employee who benefitted from the foundation. The employee is currently recovering at Livelife Re- habilitation and with the help of the professionals it is being hoped that she will be fully recovered in the near future. For more information on Arkati Foundation one can visit the group's social media pages. Hot on the heels of its sports spon- sorships including the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby 7s and the Du- bai Football Challenge, Emirates Airline is adding RedFest DXB and Choirfest Middle East to its already diverse portfolio of sponsorships. In addition, the airline is title sponsor of the Emirates Airline Dubai Jazz Festival - a partnership that began in 2003 and has since attracted almost 390,000 specta- tors. Emirates sponsors the Emir- ates Airline Festival of Literature, now in its seventh year, which is expected to attract 30,000 visitors this year and will feature over 130 writers and authors. Boutros Boutros, Divisional Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Marketing and Brand said, "Emirates is well- known for sponsoring world-class sports clubs and properties, but our sponsorship portfolio features a good mix of arts and cultural events as well." Outside of the UAE, the airline sponsors Australian Symphonies comprising of the Melbourne and Sydney Symphony Orchestras. In the United States, Emirates spon- sors the San Francisco Symphony. Onboard Emirates aircraft, music comprises of a significant chunk of the content offered on Emirates' industry-leading ice entertainment system. Ice features over 1,000 mu- sic and podcast channels in almost 36 languages spanning genres such as Classical, Opera and Jazz and R&B, among others. It also has channels dedicated to the Emirates Festival of Literature as well an audio book collection. The ice inflight entertainment sys- tem also has a dedicated channel to the symphony orchestras that the airline sponsors. Emirates operates daily sched- uled flights between Malta and Dubai via Larnaca, Cyprus. From its international hub in Dubai, Emirates offers passengers from Malta very convenient connection times to several destinations in the Far East, Australasia, Africa and the America continent. Following a successful flamenco performance held in November, Alegria Dance Company has do- nated part of the proceeds to the Research Trust (RIDT) of the Uni- versity of Malta, to be utilised in the university's cancer research. The donation of €800 was pre- sented by Alegria Dance Director Ingrid Sciberras to Professor Juan- ito Camilleri, Rector of the Univer- sity of Malta, and chairman of the Research Trust. On accepting the donation, Prof. Camilleri thanked the dance company for their sup- port and for the fact that they have embraced the concept of support- ing research as part of their social commitment. The Research Trust (RIDT) has been established in 2011 as a joint initiative between the University of Malta and the Government of Malta and has the objective of rais- ing funds to sustain and bolster research activity within the various departments of the university. On 8 February, SmartCity Malta host- ed its first-ever Carnival celebrations at Laguna Walk, its vibrant hub in the south of Malta, in collaboration with the Ministry for Justice, Culture and Local Government, and Catermax. In spite of unfavourable weather conditions, the festivities were well- attended by both adults and children in their Carnival costumes. The win- ners of the Carnival Costume Com- petition were 1st prize winners, Faith Calleja as the Autumn Queen and Ganesse Abela as the Fire Goddess, and 3rd prize winner Zak Ellul as the Prince, who all won a commemora- tive trophy. If you wish to stay updated about all future Laguna Walk events, please visit www.lagunawalk.com.mt and 'SmartCity News' on Facebook. Professor Juanito Camilleri receiving the donation from Ingrid Sciberras A young participant at the Laguna Walk Carnival celebrations Choirfest Middle East has been added to Emirates' sponsorships portfolio