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46 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 8 NOVEMBER 2015 Events Maltese named Youth Worker of the Year 2015 for Commonwealth Europe Christian Mizzi from Malta has been named Youth Worker of the Year for 2015 for Common- wealth Europe. Christian is a youth worker with Agenzija Zghazagh and Secretary General of the Malta Association of Youth Work- ers. He co-ordinates youth-led projects and exchanges dealing with issues of social inclusion, artistic expression, active par- ticipation and democratisation with the aim of empowering young people. On receiving his award, Mizzi said: "This award does not only belong to me but also to my col- league Simon Schembri, and to all the young people we work with. Recognition is a very im- portant factor for youth workers to remain positive in their work, however recognition alone will lead nowhere. "Governments need to invest more in youth work because most youth work is management by crisis. By investing more, youth workers can do more ho- listic work with the young peo- ple within their own communi- ties and support and encourage them to open up opportunities for learning in daily life which will leave a lasting significance." The Commonwealth-wide Youth Worker of the Year for 2015 has been awarded to Vic- tor Ochen, founder of the Afri- can Youth Initiative Network, a Ugandan NGO that works to empower young people to pro- mote democratic leadership and civic engagement in communi- ties that have faced conflict. Speaking at the awards cer- emony at the Commonwealth's headquarters in London, Com- monwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said: "The contribution of youth workers is vital to community cohesion and nation building. Their impact on individual development and pub- lic wellbeing is beyond measure – but not beyond recognition. That is why the Commonwealth pioneered professional accredi- tation of youth work, with train- ing and diplomas to set stand- ards and acknowledge the status of these specialist workers. "The Commonwealth Youth Worker of the Year Awards add to the distinction of the pro- fession, and acknowledge the immense contribution being made across our member states through innovative initiatives led by brave and inspirational youth workers - often in dan- gerous circumstances and at considerable personal risk. The recipients of these 2015 Awards make heroic contri- butions, empowering young people to change their lives for the better, building safer and more inclusive societies. They exemplify all that is best in the Commonwealth, and embody the values and principles of our Charter." The theme for Youth Work Week 2015, running from 2-8 November, is Youth Work- ers Creating Paths to Peace, acknowledging the role that youth development workers around the world play in foster- ing social cohesion, peace and security in society. Katherine Ellis, Director of Youth at the Commonwealth Secretariat, commented: "Youth Work Week is about giving the youth worker sector, which is often unheralded and under-resourced, the inter- national recognition it rightly deserves. As young people are confronted with challenges in- cluding marginalisation and unemployment, we must recog- nise and invest in this vital sec- tor that uncovers young people's greatness and helps them grow and contribute to nation-build- ing." Thursday 19 November 2015 is Beaujolais Nouveau Day. This day celebrates the first wine of the season, which is just a few weeks after the harvest. Beaujolais Nouveau is meant to be drunk young and most vintages should be consumed by the following May after its release. This fresh and fruity red is the result of a quick fer- mentation process that ends up with a tasty, clean wine that is enjoyed by palates the world over. The Gamay grapes that go into Beaujolais Nouveau are handpicked in the Beaujolais province of France. The wine actually originated about a century ago as a cheap and cheerful drink produced by locals to celebrate the end of the harvest season. Beaujolais Nouveau owes its easy drink- ability to a winemaking proc- ess called carbonic maceration, also known as whole-berry fer- mentation. This technique pre- serves the fresh, fruity quality of the grapes without extracting bitter tannins from the grape skins. Perhaps the most well-known producer of Beaujolais Nouveau is Georges Duboeuf, who is credited as one of the marketing geniuses behind the wine. Sell- ing this young red was viewed by some vintners as a means to clear large quantities of wine at decent profits, which would create a much-needed cash f low shortly after harvest. The idea of a race to Paris car- rying the first bottles of the new vintage was conceived and this attracted much media attention. By the 1970s, the race became a national event. The races spread to neighbouring countries in Europe in the 1980s, followed by North America, and in the 1990s, to Asia. The Beaujolais region is 34 miles long from north to south and 7 to 9 miles wide and home to nearly 4,000 vineyards which produce twelve officially- designated types of Beau- jolais known as AOCs. They include some of the finest and priciest grand crus wines around, in- cluding Fleurie and Cote de Brouilly. The most common two are the Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages, the former of which account for half of the region's annual output. In 2010, 35 million bottles of the wine were realeased on the market. Some 7.5 mil- lion were sold in French supermarkets and 15.5 million were exported mainly to Japan, Germa- ny and the United States. Georges Duboeuf 's famed Beaujolais wines are imported, marketed and distributed by Far- sons Beverage Imports Company (FBIC) Limited, a member of The Farsons Group. It's Beaujolais Nouveau time HSBC Malta brings smiles to patients through Dr Klown HSBC Bank Malta staff join volunteers of Dr. Klown Malta to help cheer up children at the Mater Dei Hospital during the Kids and Klowns day. The HSBC Malta Foundation will be supporting the NGO, which is dedicated to bring smiles to in-patient children at the hospital, for a period of three years. The Foundation will ena- ble the activities of five members of Dr. Klown with a donation of €7,500. Embassy Shopping Complex and Cinemas celebrates 15th anniversary The Embassy Shopping Complex and Cinemas is celebrating its 15th anniversary by rewarding its cus- tomers through various promotions and prizes to be won. As part of the festivities, popu- lar outlets such as Costa Coffee, Agenda Bookshop, United Colors of Benetton, Punt Roma, Terranova, Chocostore, Dean Gera Hair Care, Junior's Toyshop, Ana Morena and Malta Archery will host attractive promotions for shoppers during a shopping festival on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 November. The Embassy will also be giving out free portable power banks with a minimum of €50 spent and the chance to win up to €2,000 worth of shopping vouchers when visiting the Embassy's anniversary stand in Republic Street, Valletta. As part of the anniversary cel- ebrations and their commitment towards the local community, The Embassy has also signed a sponsor- ship agreement with the Valletta Football Club youth nursery. This will help the Valletta youth nurs- ery to invest in more facilities and encourage youths to participate in sports and keep a healthy lifestyle. Bettina Azzopardi, Managing Director of the Embassy Shopping Complex and Cinemas, said, "The Embassy has successfully main- tained its position as Valletta's largest and most popular shopping complex for 15 years. With six fully digitized cinema screens, various renowned brands under one roof and over 1.2 million visitors each year, we are delighted that our phi- losophy of delivering quality enter- tainment and value for money has continuously engaged our custom- ers. "The promotions we're doing and the support to our community is our way to thank our customers. We look forward to serving them and keeping them entertained in the best way." During the past 15 years, the Em- bassy received over 20 million visi- tors and recently has inaugurated various new shops including Costa Coffee, iCentre, Dean Gera Hair Care and Italian franchise Chocos- tore. Bettina Azzopardi concluded that, "all this is part of our strategy to remain the leading one-stop en- tertainment hub for residents, shop- pers and tourists in Valletta." Christian Mizzi