President's Prize for Creativity

Il-Premju tal-President għall-Kreattività 2012

“To address, at the highest level of the State through the Office of the President and the endorsement of the President of Malta, the creative needs of young people and organisations engaged with children and young people by providing support, recognition, and opportunities to develop young people’s talents and to help them reach their full potential.”

Following a proposal submitted to the Mosta Local Council by two Mosta Youth Workers and following unanimous agreement between all Mosta councillors, we would like to announce that the Mosta Local Council, after submitting an application for the Premju tal-President għall-Kreattività, is among the winners of the same Prize.

Following the commitment made by two Youth Workers residing in Mosta to identify a real need that aims to address the youth who frequent the streets and public places in Mosta, through an outreach process and workshops related to graffiti art, we will be giving the youth the chance to communicate their wishes to the rest of the community. In this regard, we would like to thank the Mosta Local Council for believing wholeheartedly in this project and in the good it can offer both to these youth and to the Mosta community.

When we look around us we realise that the youth of Mosta are creative, brave, enthusiastic and they are very much involved in our beautiful locality. There are youths who are part of a church organisation, some with the football team, some with a band club or a fire organisation, some who help with the set-up for the feast and many more. It is a fact that we have many youths who are active in our community and this is a factor that we, the people of Mosta, are proud of.

But we cannot forget that the groups here in Mosta do not appeal to all the young people of Mosta. There are young people who feel that the locality of Mosta and the organisations are not offering them opportunities that interest them. We must understand that not everyone has the same tastes, the same interests and the same beliefs. Therefore it is important that we who work with young people learn to listen and really see what the needs of our young people are and that we are not afraid to explore new projects.

Artistic Dialogue will be aiming to initiate an outreach process in public places through a Youth Worker who is being engaged with the project with the aim of building a space for dialogue between young people and various entities including the council, police and other stakeholders who are truly interested in the well-being of young people in our community. This project will also be offering training on graffiti art from professional artists with the aim of delivering a positive message to the rest of the community.

Through this project we will be exploring how this modern art can convey positive messages in our community. After the graffiti art workshops, a group of young people will be working together to brighten up one of the public spaces we have in Mosta. Thus, through this project, instead of associating the young people we see in the gardens, as those who are wasting time or committing vandalism, with this project the young people will be working to cultivate and learn to take care of your environment urban living space , add color and offer a youthful element to the Grognet garden in Mosta.

This project is the first of its kind in Mosta, and it would not have been possible if the Mayor, together with all the members of the Mosta Local Council & Kunsill Lokali Żgħażagħ Mosta, had not unanimously believed in the great potential that this project has and stepped in fully to help us carry it out.

We would also like to thank the organisers of the Premju tal-President għall-Kreattività who selected our project as one of those that will be awarded the necessary funds, as well as Twitch, the graffiti artist who, together with his colleagues, will be leading the art workshops.

More information about this project can be obtained through the new Facebook page called Artistic Dialogue Mosta or by calling 79856471 or 99405564.

17th October 2012 | Martin Chetcuti receiving certificate from President George Abela

Big respect to the Project Coordinators Martin Chetcuti and Stephanie Camilleri for committing fully to helping make this dream a reality.