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Hi All,
We have a newsletter that is packed with events and offers that we are sure will interest you, as Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar has become the focus of many who recognise that our members are keen to participate in a wide range of activities, from increasing their environmental knowledge to healthy living and activity holidays, so do check out all the attachments.
Last month saw the conclusion of FAA's campaign to protect Villa Bologna which did not stop with the scheduling of the palace and gardens but culminated in the creation of a buffer zone outside the Villa which meant that applications to build up to five storeys and therefore obliterate the Villa were refused by MEPA. Unfortunately our request for an unbuilt public open space for the residents of Ta' Fgieni was not met, however limiting the development to only two storeys does mean less building and traffic congestion for the residents.
On Friday the 3rd of October we held our first FAA dinner which served as a celebration of the above achievement and was a great success. The rain held off for just a few hours, enough for us to sit out and enjoy a lovely balmy evening in the gardens of Villa Bologna , kindly offered to us by Charlotte and Gerald de Trafford. The theme of 'Flavours of the Mediterranean ' was set by Martha Farrugia, our beautiful flamenco dancer and by Marie-Therese Vassallo who entertained the diners with popular songs in no less than three languages - Italian, French and Maltese. Island Caterers provided an excellent dinner of Maltese, Italian and Spanish dishes along with French cheeses kindly supplied by PJ Sutters, all of which was washed down by French, Italian, Spanish and Maltese wines which were provided by Wands and Meridiana wines.
After the dinner we auctioned some lovely items kindly donated by Orienta and OK Ltd, with some lucky members leaving with good bargain while the rest of us had a few good laughs until the evening wound up with a plentiful raffle. Special thanks go to members Noel Ciantar as well as Geraldine and John Portelli who helped so much both before and during the dinner, while their son Alex and Antoinette Muscat made a winning raffle-ticket-selling team.
On a more serious note, FAA has not let up on the lobbying front, and held a long and cordial meeting with the EU Infringements Unit delegation at the beginning of the month. The EU team are always very interested in following the goings-on in Malta , though unfortunately EU regulations do not always go as far as one would wish in protecting the environment of individual member states. FAA representatives attended the Smart City and Hal-Ferh consultation meetings, raising architectural, rural and sustainability issues. Last month we also attended the St. John's Cathedral meeting which was held for NGOs after we raised the issue of lack of consultation.
An FAA committee member, Ing Marco Cremona now also sits on the Monitoring Committee that vets EU Operational Programme 1 projects while Dr. George Debono and Astrid Vella attended a breakfast meeting on Climate Change and energy efficiency hosted by the US Ambassador.
As regards our role to raise awareness on environmental issues, committee members Miriam Cremona and Alfred Zahra de Domenico took part in programmes on Campus FM and Dissett on PBS, discussing the St. John's project, while Astrid Vella now has a regular environment slot on the PBS magazine programme "12.05", every Thursday at 1.35pm.
These are just some of the activities that have been keeping us busy over the last two months in addition to regular press releases and articles on various different heritage and environment-related subjects in the print media; please don't forget that writing letters to the newspapers is one of the easiest and most effective initiatives you can take as not only do we need your constant backing but you also need to take the lead in highlighting issues.
We have some very interesting conference and short courses lined up for you in this and in the coming newsletters. To begin with, The International Environment Institute will be organizing a seminar and workshop on the subject of Cultural Landscapes of the Maltese Islands, between the 11th and 14th November 2008. All those interested in participating in this event may find further details in the attachment below and on the IEI website http://www.um.edu.mt/iei/events/culturallandscapes). This event is funded through a UNESCO grant and, for this reason, attendance is free-of-charge.
FAA member Bernard Shranz has kindly offered FAA members special discounts in booking for a wonderful walking holiday in Sicily between the 13th and 17th of November 2008. This will consist of a 4 night stay in an Agriturismo resort with typical Sicilian cuisine made from the products grown on site. There will be trekking excursions of medium intensity to cater for people of every walking ability. Find out more details in the attachment further down.
Kind regards,
The FAA Committee
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The International Environment Institute will be organizing a seminar and workshop on the subject of Cultural Landscapes of the Maltese Islands, between the 11th and 14th of November 2008. This event is being carried out under the auspices of the Maltese National Commission for UNESCO, and with the collaboration of the MEPA and the Ministry for Gozo. The objective of this initiative is to highlight the diverse values of the unique cultural landscapes of the Maltese Islands and to evaluate the challenge inherent in maintaining their character in the face of a dynamic and changing culture. Lecturers from both Malta and overseas will share their expertise on various aspects of cultural landscapes, whilst guiding participants through interactive hands-on exercises during workshops being held in Malta and Gozo.
We have the pleasure of inviting you to participate in this three-day event, further details of which are available on the IEI website (http://www.um.edu.mt/iei/events/culturallandscapes). Lectures will be held on the 11th (in Malta ), while participants will have the option of attending one of the workshops, that is, on either the 12th (in Malta ) or 13th (in Gozo). The round-table discussion will take place on the 14th in Gozo. Attendees may also opt for participation in selected daily sessions. This event is funded through a UNESCO grant and, for this reason, attendance is free-of-charge.
Should you wish to register, you may do so either online, at http://www.um.edu.mt/iei/events/culturallandscapes/register , or by contacting us on 2340 2873 or iei@um.edu.mt . As places are limited, we encourage you to submit your registration by the 30th of October, 2008.
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