Art Explora Museum Boat Arrives In Malta Ahead Of Festival

Mar 13 2024

The Museum Boat part of a Spazju Kreattiv collaboration with Art Explora has arrived in Malta to officially launch a unique festival, offering ten days of free artistic and cultural programming both on board and on the quayside.

Scheduled from March 21st to 31st, 2024, at Xatt Pinto, Valletta Waterfront, the Art Explora Festival marks the beginning of a significant maritime expedition across the Mediterranean, with Malta as its inaugural stop among 20 destinations.

Organized by the Art Explora Foundation, the festival aims to democratize global access to the arts. Curated by architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, it offers exhibitions, virtual reality experiences, performances, discussions, and concerts.

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Over 2024-2026, the museum-boat will visit 15 Mediterranean countries, fostering cultural exchange. Designed by Axel de Beaufort and Guillaume Verdier, the museum-boat accommodates 2,000 daily visitors and features immersive exhibitions, including a collaboration with the Louvre.

A festival village on the quayside, programmed by Spazju Kreattiv, showcases local and international art, aiming for inclusive engagement and addressing socio-political issues. The inaugural weekend introduces “Ocean Weekends,” focusing on ocean climate emergencies.

The festival also facilitates cross-residencies for artists and researchers from visited countries. Overall, the Art Explora Festival invites diverse communities to embark on a transformative journey, uniting through art and exploring cultural connections between Malta and other ports of call.

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55 Year Old Man At Risk Of Dying After Crashing In Furjana

Mar 13 2024

Today, at around 0815hrs, police were informed of a traffic incident which took place in Triq l-Imħażen, il-Furjana.

Police convened immediately on site and preliminary investigations showed that a 55 year old resident of Żebbuġ, Gozo lost control of his Smart vehicle and crashed into a private property.

The victim was given medical aid by a team and then transported to Mater Dei Hospital. He was later certified as having suffered serious injuries.

Police are still investigating.

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Over 100K Passengers After Ferries Were Made Free

Mar 13 2024

Taking to social media, Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works Chris Bonett revealed that, in just one year, ferry passengers increased by 42,409 ever since the transportation was made free.

Back in February of 2023, there were 65,368 ferry passengers. However, in February 2024, after the announcement that ferries were to be made free, the number increased to 107,777.

Have you ever used the ferry?

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Maltese Language In EU Parliament; President Metsola’s Letter

Mar 13 2024

Following a recent address by MEP Cyrus Engerer, wherein he addressed his inability to speak in his native language due to Maltese being exempt from having interpreters at the European Parliament, we reached out to sources within the European Parliament services.

Sources within the services of the European Parliament said that whilst a request for an Estonian interpreter was made prior to the press-conference, MEP Engerer did not make such request to be provided with a Maltese interpreter. “If MEP Engerer had made the request, a Maltese interpreter would have been made available,” our sources said.

MaltaDaily reached out to the office of the President of the European Parliament and asked whether initiatives were taken to address the annual derogation on Maltese interpretation in some meetings of the European Parliament. A spokesperson from the President of the European Parlament’s office sent MaltaDaily a letter which Roberta Metsola had sent to Prime Minister Robert Abela back in February of this year, to address an issue that has been present for around 20 years.

In the letter, which was reportedly ignored, Metsola urges for collaboration between the European Parliament and the Government of Malta to address the issue of a lack of interpreters.

‘MEPs should have the right to have access to documents in all official languages’, Metsola wrote, ‘in the same way that they have the right to speak in their official language through the interpretation of 23 other official languages.’

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‘To facilitate this multilingual communication, the Parliament administration depends on the specialised services of people trained in linguistics which, in the case of Maltese, is always becoming more difficult to find.’

As a remedy for the lack of linguists, the letter explains, the European Parliament has a cooperation program with the University of Malta which provides assistance with the aim of training interpreters for conferences. Due to several constraints, the EP can only provide interpretation of Maltese in limited circumstances.

‘This issue is dear to my heart and I felt the need to say that the European Parliament is ready to do everything to address these issues,’ stated President Metsola.

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