4th Convention For Maltese Living Abroad

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs would like to inform the Maltese diaspora and the general public that the next convention for Maltese Living Abroad will take place on 20-23 April 2015. Preparations are currently ongoing and the Ministry would like to hear from those who are interested in participation at the fourth Convention.

The Convention will consist of plenary sessions together with a number of workshops. Other activities will also be organized at the margins of the Convention. These include an arts exhibition, literary symposium and a drawing exhibition by school children across the island relating to themes linked with the Diaspora.

The working languages of the Convention will be Maltese and English.

Those interested in attending the Convention are invited to express their intent of participation by filling in the form that may be downloaded from http://mfa.gov.mt/library/2015Convention%20-%201stNotice+Form%20(FINAL%20-%204July2014)%20(3).pdf. This form is to be sent via email on convention2015.mfa@gov.mt. Alternatively, the form may be sent to the following postal address:

The Director
Directorate for Maltese Living Abroad
Directorate-General for Political, European Affairs and Maltese Abroad
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Palazzo Parisio, Merchant’s Street
Valletta – VLT 1171
Malta

All forms (by electronic mail or by post) must reach the Ministry for Foreign Affairs by not later than Thursday 14 August 2014 (12.00hrs CET).

Festival Barokk għal Gżira Barokka - lecture minn Kenneth Zammit Tabona

Fil-15 ta’ Mejju 2014, l-Ambaxxata tar-Repubblika ta’ Malta f’Washington D.C., b’kollaborazzjoni mad-Delegazzjoni tal-UE fl-Istati Uniti, kellha l-pjaċir li torganizza lecture minn Kenneth Zammit Tabona, il-Viċi President tat-Teatru Manoel, fuq l-identità barokka ta’ Malta, b’konnessjoni ukoll mal-Valletta International Baroque Festival, li huwa d-Direttur Artistiku tagħha. 

Dan il-lecture kien ir-riżultat ta’ laqgħat li l-Ambaxxatur Micallef kellha mad-Delegazzjoni tal-UE dwar is-suġġett tal-kultura ftit wara li waslet f’Washington, fejn kienet iddiskutiet ix-xewqa tagħha li l-Valletta International Baroque Festival u l-identità barokka ta’ Malta b’mod aktar ġenerali jkunu magħrufa aħjar min-nies ta’ D.C..

L-esperta tal-mużika storika Tina Chancey u l-kollegi tagħha mal-ewwel ħolqu l-atmosfera billi daqqew sonata mill-kompożitur Malti Michelangelo Vella (1710-1792), li kienet l-ewwel darba li qatt semgħuha udjenzi Amerikani.

Is-Sur Zammit Tabona imbagħad afaxxini l-udjenza bit-taħdita tiegħu fuq l-istorja w il-kultura ta’ Malta. Iffoka speċjalment fuq il-perjodu tal-Kavallieri ta’ Malta u kif dawn kienu ġew Malta u mhux talli baqgħu fuq il-Gżira iżda iffjorixxew u għamlu lil Malta attur ewlieni fix-xena kulturali tal-Ewropa fis-sekli sbatax u tmintax. Spjega kif il-belt Valletta kienet mibnija u tkellem dwar l-maestà tat-Teatru Manoel. Wara li kien pinġa stampa daqstant dettaljata, is-Sur Zammit Tabona mbagħad spjega l-kunċett tal-Valletta International Baroque Festival u qal kif Valletta ġiet magħżula bħala l-Kapitali Ewropea tal-Kultura għas-sena 2018.

In-nies fl-udjenza mbagħad kellhom l-opportunità li jistaqsu xi mistoqsijiet lis-Sur Zammit Tabona dwar dan is-suġġett u biex jitkellmu miegħu b’mod aktar informali matul riċeviment ċkejken li ġie organizzat wara t-taħdita. Fuljetti promozzjonali dwar Malta kienu disponibbli għall-parteċipanti tal-avveniment matul il-lejla.

Il-lecture kien organizzat bħala parti mill-programm Conversations in Culture tad-Delegazzjoni tal-UE, li huwa serje kulturali li jsir kull xahar fil-Delegazzjoni tal-UE mniedi sabiex jenfasizza l-kulturi diversi tat-28 Stat Membru tal-UE. Il-lecture ifforma wkoll parti mill-programm tal-hekk imsejjaħ Xahar Ewropew tal-Kultura, li qed jiġi organizzat għat-tieni darba matul ix-xahar ta’ Mejju mid-Delegazzjoni tal-UE.

L-Ambaxxata tixtieq tirringrazzja t-Teatru Manoel, u speċjalment lil-President tat-Teatru, Michael Grech, tal-għajnuna li taw sabiex dan l-avveniment seta’ jsir.

The President receives H.E. Mrs Gina K Abercrombie-Winstanley

 

The President, H.E. Marie Louise Coleiro Preca receives H.E. Mrs Gina K Abercrombie-Winstanley, Ambassador of the United States of America, on a courtesy call.

The President receives a courtesy call by Mr Louis Vella, Honorary Consul General in Francisco, United States of America

New Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for English-Teaching Professionals

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has launched a pilot Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) prepared by and for English-teaching professionals.
Shaping the Way We Teach English was developed by the University of Oregon. It is hosted on the Coursera platform as part of the Department’s partnership with Coursera. This is a free opportunity for current and future educators of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to improve the quality of their teaching methods.

The course offers a unique, multimedia-rich collaborative environment where participants can interact with top-ranked English-language educators from all over the world. Participants will have access to asynchronous materials and methods that complement college courses such as Introduction to Methods for Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) or Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Interactive discussion forums will also allow participants to share ideas with each other to enhance their English language teaching expertise. The benefits of this course should enable educators to establish, adapt, and evaluate their methods, materials, and classroom activities to improve their students’ study of English.


The MOOC is divided into two five-week sessions with the first course began on April 7; the second session begins on May 12. Participants can enroll in the second session without participating in the first session.

Enroll now!

Free Gospel Concert

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year From Stars And Stripes Malta