Four artistic schemes amounting to €800,000 launched as part of new programme

May 11 2022

Minister for the National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government Owen Bonnici launched an Artistic Development programme, managed by Arts Council Malta, made up of four specific schemes to enhance the development of artistic talent and communities for both local and international platforms.

The four schemes, amounting to €800,000, include the Project Research and Development Scheme, the Project Support Scheme, the International Cultural Exchanges Scheme, and the Kultura TV Scheme. While addressing a press conference, Minister Bonnici explained that this programme is essential in developing the cultural and creative sector as these schemes will help several new artists to improve their talent.

“We will continue to invest in our culture; we will also continue to support the creative and cultural sectors whereby more artists are being given the opportunity to enhance their talents,” said Minister Bonnici. On behalf of Arts Council Malta, Director of Funding and Strategy Mary Ann Cauchi emphasised the need for these support schemes, aimed at enabling artistic excellence and community development as part of Arts Council Malta’s strategy towards achieving this goal.

The Project Research and Development Scheme enables individuals, groups, and organisations to plan, develop, be represented in, and deliver on Arts Council Malta’s strategic goals and ongoing strategy, primarily addressing creative professionals and communities by nurturing creative potential and supporting its development by encouraging co-creation, collaboration and experimentation. The scheme aims to invest in artistic excellence by encouraging levels of creative risk, investigation, and active engagement of communities—supporting quality projects, identifying talent and encouraging its development.

The International Cultural Exchanges Scheme forms an integral part of the Internationalisation Strategy for Malta’s cultural and creative sectors. It addresses international cultural exchanges, focusing specifically on the outgoing mobility of Maltese and Malta-based artists over 18 years of age and their artworks and artistic productions. This scheme aims to assist Malta-based artists when pursuing activities overseas.

The Project Support Scheme is one of Arts Council Malta’s tools for individuals, groups and organisations, whereby it encourages the active involvement of communities, whilst also promoting and supporting diversity, inclusiveness and development within the community.

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Emma Muscat with 54% chance of qualifying for Eurovision final

May 11 2022

According to betting polls, Malta’s Eurovision ambassador Emma Muscat has a 54% chance of passing on to the finals in Turin.

Emma will be performing tomorrow, Thursday 12th May 2022, hoping to earn a spot in the 66th edition of the competition. Emma will be undergoing dress rehearsals today afternoon and then moving on to perform in the Jury Show.

Here, Emma will be receiving 50% of her first votes from the jury, which will also determine what will happen on Thursday when the public votes. Malta is currently in 22nd place, with Ukraine at the top. Italy, the winners of last year’s Eurovision, are in a close second place followed by the UK’s Sam Ryder.

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MUMN ready to call strike if charges against nurse not dropped

May 11 2022

The Malta Union of Midwives and Teachers (MUMN) revealed that it is prepared to call a strike among nurses if the charges against a Mount Carmel nurse and Mount Carmel manager Joseph Pace are not dropped.

Speaking to the Malta Independent, President of the union Paul Pace said that directives will be issued by the MUMN should the situation remain unchanged. The case involves a patient who had been ordered to be under one-on-one supervision.

However, due to the overwhelming staff shortages, no staff was available in MCH to conduct the supervision. For this reason, the patient inflicted self-harm and lost great amounts of blood.

The patient was thankfully immediately saved by nurses, including Joseph Pace himself. However, the nurse is being charged with criminal misconduct after the patient hurt himself due to no nurse or carer being available.

“Nurses cannot continue to be painted as criminals after doing their jobs against all odds for something which is beyond our responsibility,” Pace said. “What happened to Pace can happen to any other nurse, and we do not have the protection from the government for things we are not responsible for,” Pace said.

The nurse could face serious consequences if he is brought before the courts, risking being interdicted. Pace revealed that harsh directives are on the table and that the union will not hesitate to call a strike.

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3,300 people downloaded the COVID app in first three months of 2022

May 11 2022

According to statistics provided by servizz.gov in regards to governmental services, the COVID-19 application COVID Alert Malta was downloaded up to 3,364 times in the first quarter of 2022.

COVID Alert Malta was the most popular application, according to statistics, and the number of total downloads of mobile apps through the maltapps launcher in the same period was 11,513.

The app was launched in September of 2020 for COVID-19 contact tracing. It was used by people to see whether they were in close proximity to a person who registered positive to COVID-19.

Just a few days after the application was launched, Health Minister Chris Fearne revealed that 45,000 people had downloaded it.

As of now, from the day the first COVID-19 case was registered in Malta (March 6th 2020), 93,041 people contracted COVID-19. 89,273 recuperated whereas 713 people died due to the virus. As of yesterday, Tuesday 10th May 2022, there were 2,659 active cases in the community.

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