Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/801885
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 22 MARCH 2017 17 Events Record number of companies join CSR Day 2017 A record number of 15 leading companies in Malta took part in the 16th Corporate Social Re- sponsibility (CSR) Day. Hundreds of team members from AIS Group, Computime Group, Express Trailers Ltd, Far- sons Group, Forestals Group, FTIAS Ltd, Gasco Energy, Green- Pak Co-Op, HSBC Bank Malta, HSBC UKCC Malta, Liquigas Malta Ltd, MEUSAC, Multigas Ltd, Nectar Group, and Tumas Group participated in an impres- sive show of commitment to social transformation. The annual CSR Day evolved out of the feast of St Joseph the Work- er, the latter being also a public holiday. In the morning, all the partici- pating companies and their repre- sentatives gathered at the official residence of the President of Mal- ta H.E. Marie-Louise Coleiro Pre- ca, who greeted and thanked the volunteers for their contribution to the society. The representative of the Arcbishop of Malta Mgr Charles Cordina was also present. From the San Anton Palace, the groups made their way to their respective sites and began car- rying out a range of volunteer work, from paintwork and tiling to gardening and general clean- ing. Some chose to take the kids of various homes out for sightsee- ing. In no particular order, the chosen causes were: Helen Keller Resource Centre, Qrendi; Dar Fra Diegu, Ħamrun; St Thomas Tow- er, Marsascala; Ċentru Taħriġ, Santa Venera; Richmond Founda- tion's Kids In Development Pro- gramme, Żejtun; San Blas Thera- peutic Community, Żebbuġ; St Joseph Home, Santa Venera; Sis- ters of Charity, Cospicua; and the Ursuline Sisters, Tarxien. The participants with the President of Malta in a family photo before embarking on a day of volunteer work Handel's Messiah on Easter Sunday in aid of medical research GEORGE Frideric Handel's most loved and joyous oratorio 'The Mes- siah' will be performed by the Gold- berg Ensemble under the direction of Michael Laus on Easter Sunday 16th April 2017 at St Paul's Angli- can Pro-Cathedral in Valletta, at 19:00 hrs. This special fundraising concert is being held in aid of medi- cal research and is organised by the University of Malta's Research, In- novation and Development Trust (RIDT) with the support of APS Bank and Teatru Manoel. 'The Messiah' will be executed as Handel originally intended it – for single strings and a small group of singers. Leading Maltese vocalists, soprano Gillian Zammit, mezzo so- prano Clare Massa, tenor Edward Camilleri and bass Albert Buttigieg will be singing the solo arias. The instrumental ensemble will be led by violinist Nadia Debono. Handel's 'Messiah' has been de- scribed as "one of man's grandest musical achievements". It is tradi- tionally performed worldwide ei- ther during the Christmas or Easter period, with its Hallelujah Chorus being one of the more recognisable passages. Over the 273 years from its composition, performances of 'The Messiah' progressively strayed further from Handel's original composition, attempting to make choirs and orchestras uncharac- teristically large, often with "new" parts created for extra instruments. The Easter 2017 version in Malta, 258 years and two days after his death, will be seeking to adhere to the original as intended by the Ger- man, later naturalised British, ba- roque composer. The Research Trust (www.ridt.eu) has been established in 2011 as a joint initiative between the Univer- sity of Malta and the Government of Malta. The Trust raises funds to sustain and reinforce research activity within the various depart- ments of the university. Entrance tickets at €25 may be booked from Teatru Manoel book- ing office, online: bookings@te- atrumanoel.com.mt or website: http://booking.teatrumanoel.com. mt Ticket hotline 2124 6389 or 7941 2139. The Goldberg Ensemble under the direction of Michael Laus will be performing The Messiah on Easter Sunday at St Paul's Anglican Pro-Cathedral in Valletta European Money Week targets students and youths THE Malta Bankers' Association in collaboration with the Depart- ment of Curriculum Manage- ments's Home Economics Semi- nar Centre, the Malta Financial Services Authority, the Central Bank of Malta, the Malta Stock Ex- change and the Institute of Finan- cial Services, will once again be organising the European Money Week in the latter part of March. The European Money Week is an initiative of the European Banking Federation, aimed at promoting financial education and financial literacy amongst students and youths. Two of the activities being un- dertaken are the "Money Matters" programme and the "Be Wise – Pay Smart" programme. The "Money Matters" pro- gramme involves Year 6 pupils (age 10 – 11 years) participating in interactive sessions during which they engage in games, debates, drama workshops and case studies aimed at helping them to acquire knowledge, skills and competen- cies needed to become financially responsible and to be able to make more informed financial deci- sions. This year, the programme also includes a session on banknote se- curity features in order for the pu- pils to learn how to detect coun- terfeit notes. The "Be Wise – Pay Smart" programme is aimed at older students (age 14 – 16 years) undergoing the Core Curriculum Programme (CCP) in Year 10 and Year 11. Ninety minute training sessions are held on bank premises and include filmed sketches aimed at provoking discussion and ques- tions regarding the use of ATMs and EPOS terminals, the differ- ent types of bank accounts which can be opened and the use of debit cards and credit cards. This is fol- lowed by hands-on training, car- rying out various ATM and card transactions. The sessions are facilitated by teachers from the Home Economics Seminar Centre and bank personnel. Both the "Money Matters" and the "Be Wise – Pay Smart" pro- grammes have proved to be highly popular and successful in previous years, and will therefore continue to feature in this year's and future editions of the European Money Week. New Tallinja card auto top-up service launched MALTA Public Transport an- nounced that it will soon start of- fering its customers an Auto Top- Up facility on their tallinja cards. With this service the customers will enjoy peace of mind, know- ing that their tallinja card will be topped up automatically and that they will never run out of credit when they need to travel by bus. In order to make use of the Auto Top-Up facility, customers need to register for an online account on publictransport.com.mt. Once they login on their online account, customers may set up their Auto Top-Up by entering the debit or the credit card details. After suc- cessfully saving the details, this credit/debit card will be the de- fault card displayed in the cus- tomer's profile. Automatic top-ups are based on two criteria: either when a pre- determined balance is reached; or else on a specific day of the month. Customers may choose the option that suits them best. Once the Auto Top-Up is set up successfully, customers will re- ceive a confirmation email. As an introductory offer, the company is giving a free €5 top up to the first 100 customers who register for the Auto Top-Up ser- vice. This offer is only valid for the first 100 Auto Top-Ups regis- tered until 31 March 2017.