Spring equinox: are day and night equally long today?

Mar 20 2023

The 20th of March, also known as the vernal equinox, marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.

At the equinox, Earth’s two hemispheres are receiving the sun’s rays at equal amounts, with night and day often said to be equal in length.

In fact, the word equinox comes from the Latin words aequus (equal) and nox (night). This point proved to be an essential time keeping tool for our ancestors, leading to mythological stories developing around it.

However, recent scientific developments showed that this is not exactly correct. There are technically 8 more minutes of daylight – at mid-temperate latitudes – on the day of an equinox.

The day when day and night are actually equal is called an equilux. This happens a few to several days after the autumn equinox and a few to several days before the spring equinox.

Much as earliest sunrises and latest sunsets vary with latitude, so the exact date of an equilux varies with latitude. This contrasts to the equinox itself, which is a whole-Earth event and happens at the same instant worldwide.

In fact, at and near the equator, there is no equilux whatsoever, because the daylight period is over 12 hours long every day of the year.

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Maltese musician with autism invited to play at international Finland Festival

Mar 20 2023

Alessia Bonnici, a 17 year old pianist on the autism spectrum will be performing in Finland this April at the Access Tampere Next Generation Culture Festival 2023. Moreover, Alessia will also be presenting Ale’s Project, her own music video which she had produced with local artists and practitioners during the Covid-19 pandemic, back in 2021.

Alessia is passionate about music and the arts, a medium that has offered her an alternative, yet powerful way of expression that allows her to experience a way of being in the world that yields countless joys and satisfactions. Music has provided Alessia with a sense of freedom. It has increased her confidence to interact with others and provided added meaning to her life. Music is not merely a part of Alessia’s world, it has transformed her life in an incredible way.

Alessia is a student at the Malta School of Music, currently reading for her Diploma in Piano. She is also following a hybrid A Level course with Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London. Furthermore, Alessia attends Villabianca – Centre for Music & the Arts, a project by The Malta Trust foundation.

At Villabianca, Alessia is provided with additional theoretical support. During her first 8 years at Malta School of Music, Alessia studied with pianist and music therapist Rosetta Debattista, who is now the creative consultant of Villabianca. In 2021, she started being taught repertoire by another celebrated pianist, Gabi Sultana, who is now exposing Alessia to an array of new exciting genres which suit her musical character.

Given her ever-growing musical passion, this festival will provide Alessia a dual opportunity in a pivotal stage of her musical career. Firstly, it will provide her the chance to showcase her musical talent among international professionals interested in the field of diverse musical ability.

These will be able witness the level of playing she has achieved notwithstanding her language and academic challenges. Furthermore, she will also be able to share, alongside her mother Cynthia and Rosetta Debattista, the remarkable work done on Ale’s Project. This project will serve as an encouragement to other professional artists, allowing them to make use of novel and creative ways of expression.

Alessia, Rosetta and Cynthia had a cordial meeting with President Emeritus Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, chair of the Malta Trust Foundation and Dr. Kenneth Vella, the Ambassador of Malta to Finland and Estonia. During this meeting Alessia’s participation in Access Tampere, Next Generation Culture Festival 2023 was discussed. Dr. Vella showed his appreciation for this initiative, stating that already there exists a strong collaboration with Tampere in the sectors of education and sports. This festival, he remarked, will create an avenue of opportunity to start making cultural connections with this vibrant city.

Alessia’s participation with Access Tampere Next Generation Culture Festival 2023 is being kindly supported by the Malta Arts Council and The Malta Trust Foundation. Click here to find out more about Alessia and watch her perform.

The best places to visit in 2023: Malta is not included

Mar 20 2023

TIME magazine has just released the annual list of the World’s Greatest Places for the year 2023 so that wander-lust travellers can start to make their respective bookings.

Unfortunately, according to this international magazine and its network of correspondents and contributors, our little Mediterranean island did not make the cut.

So where exactly did TIME set its sights on? Well, in terms of fellow European countries, France’s Dijon and Italy’s newest national park Pantelleria were some of the choices.

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Meanwhile, Timisoara in Romania, as a capital of culture in 2023, also made the list, along with the Albanian town of Berat. Moving away from Europe we get the likes of Tampa, Florida and Kangaroo Island, Australia.

Pantanal in Brazil, Ollantaytambo in Peru, Nagoya in Japan, Dakar in Senegal, Aqaba in Jordan, Sharjah in UAE, Chyulu Hills in Kenya and Jeju Island in South Korea all made the list as well.

Have you ever been to any of these locations?

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Protest banner calls for public inquiry into Jean Paul Sofia’s death

Mar 20 2023

On Monday 20th of March, a protest action by Jean Paul Sofia’s loved ones saw the banner erected as people call for the opening of a public inquiry into the tragic death.

It was announced last month that the inquiry into the death of Jean Paul Sofia, who lost his life in December 2022 during the collapse of a three-story building in Kordin, will not be made public.

The banner, which read #JUSTICEFORJEANPAULSOFIA, was erected in the tunnels zone of the iSkate Park in Msida with the aim of opening a public inquiry.

‘This inquiry is essential’ wrote Facebook page ‘Għal Jean Paul’, ‘so that we all find out why the life of Jean Paul, full of vitality and love, was brutally ended on the 3rd of December on a Kordin construction site.’

The case has seen various groups, from activists Moviment Graffiti to even the Opposition, calling for the government to make the inquiry public.

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