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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 2 AUGUST 2017 News 17 Applications for the National Poetry Competition are open THE National Book Council and Għaqda Poeti Maltin invite poets to participate in the 2017 edition of the Mons. Amante Bountempo National Poetry Contest, which opened yester- day and closes on 4 September 2017. The contest requires par- ticipants to submit up to three poems in Maltese of between six and 30 verses which have not appeared in print before, either in published anthologies or in journals. The contest, which was set up for the first time last year, comprises three prizes. First prize holds a reward of €400, followed by €200 for the sec- ond prize and €100 for the third. A jury of three adjudica- tors will evaluate the poems, which must be handed in un- der a nom de plume in order to ensure absolute fairness. For the same reason, members of the Committee of Għaqda Poeti Maltin and members of the board or of the adminis- tration of the National Book Council are barred from par- ticipation in the Contest. As each poet is allowed to sub- mit up to three poems, it can happen that one poet carries off more than one prize. It is also conceivable, albeit a little unlikely, that the same indi- vidual wins all the three priz- es. In the first edition of the contest last year, Louis Briffa won first prize with Falco Per- egrinus and third prize with Storja Antika. Poets submitting more than one entry can submit all the poems under the same nom de plum, or if they prefer, they can use a different one for each poem. A complete list of regu- lations can be downloaded from the Council website. In their evaluation of the en- tries the jury will apply a set of criteria. Broadly speaking, the jury are required to iden- tify and reward authenticity, imagination, distinctiveness of voice, and original and inspir- ing use of rhythm and figures of speech. However, there are other mat- ters, such as consistency of register, orthography, gram- mar, visual aspect, and many more that carry consider- able weight in the evaluation. All participants are urged to download the criteria and study them carefully. The announcement of the winning entries will take place during an event at Sir Temi Zammit Hall in the Mediter- ranean Conference Centre on Friday 10 November, as part of the cultural programme of the Malta Book Festival, which on Friday 10 will be dedicated mostly to poetry. HSBC Malta creating positive community outcomes HSBC Bank Malta's Volunteer Leave Day is continuing to inspire a large number of its team members to roll up their sleeves and engage in cre- ating positive outcomes for them- selves and the community. In the first half of 2017, team mem- bers dedicated time cleaning parks, painting care homes, promoting wa- ter conservation, and raising funds for NGOs. After spending a day working at the l-Majjistral Nature & History Park, volunteer Catherine Farrugia said: "It was a day very well spent. The staff there are very nice and took the time to explain to us their roles. Even though the work they do often goes without recognition and is prone to vandalism, what is re- markable to me is that they still keep on doing it." "We built a wall for a specific path- way. It was physically strenuous but very rewarding," said a beaming Ms Farrugia. Further to hands-on volunteer ef- forts, the Bank, through the HSBC Malta Foundation continued to demonstrate its corporate social re- sponsibility by financing important causes. Of note are the Foundation's support to the JAYE Malta Founda- tion, Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti, Nature Trust Malta, and the Presi- dent's fund to visit Maltese patients and their families in UK hospitals. The enthusiasm of the HSBC team members has been contagious as the HSBC Malta retirees too have been lending their time through the 'HSBC Experience in Action' initia- tive. Of a number of contributions, a group of retirees are currently put- ting in half a day per month to cat- egories and organise the St Agatha school library in Rabat. HSBC's volunteers have, over the years, contributed to some of Malta's most visited tourist sites such as Ar- gotti Botanic Gardens (Floriana), the Palazzo Falson (Mdina), and Notar- ial Archives (Valletta) to name just a few. New projects for 2017 include Il-Majjistral Nature & History Park, Casa Rocca Piccola, Malta Aviation Museum, St John's Co-Cathedral, Oasi Foundation (Gozo), and select sites of Din l-Art Ħelwa and Herit- age Malta. The enthusiasm of the HSBC team members has been contagious Radio listener wins a holiday in Cyprus with Emirates ALEXANDRA Vella from Mel- lieha is the lucky winner of the 'Hello Emirates' competi- tion which ran on the break- fast show "DANUSAN qumu" presented by the popular duo Daniel Chircop and Sander Agius on Radju Malta. Vella won two Emirates Econo- my Class airfares to Cyprus and a 5-night accommodation includ- ing breakfast at the 5-star Almy- ra Beach Resort in Paphos, with compliments of Thanos Hotels and kindly arranged through Cyprus Tourism Organisation. She was one of six finalists who answered correctly the questions on Emirates destinations during a final live quiz. The other five finalists received an Emirates Travel bag. Almyra Beach Resort is a con- temporary luxury seaside ho- tel set in tropical gardens and overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. It is situated within walking distance of most shops and res- taurants and a few minutes away from Paphos Harbour. Almyra's diverse leisure activities offer couples and families the perfect spot to unwind. With Emirates daily scheduled flights to Larnaca, Cyprus is be- coming increasingly attractive for travellers from Malta looking for a relaxing holiday. The flight duration is just over two hours. Emirates provides its custom- ers with a wide range of choices across its global network of more than 150 destinations in 84 countries together with ex- ceptional on-board offerings and services. Passengers who travel on Emirates' Boeing 777 aircraft will be able to enjoy the airline's award-winning ice system with up to 2,500 channels of the lat- est movies, TV shows and mu- sic, and gourmet cuisine served by Emirates' multi-lingual cabin crew. Passengers also enjoy gen- erous baggage allowance of up to 35kg in Economy Class. Emirates Malta Manager Paul Fleri Soler presenting the gift vouchers to Alexandra Vella in the presence of Daniel Chircop and Sander Aguis Contest winners will be announced during the Malta Book Festival