Paul R. Kraemer, honorary consul general for Malta in Northrhine-Westphalia and Hesse, in Germany, and his wife Käthe have since the year 2000 established contacts between the Malta National Commission Persons with Disability and Lebenshilfe Nordrhein-Westfalen, a German organisation working with and for persons with disability.

In 1972 Mr and Mrs Kraemer had already established in the Gold Kraemer Foundation working for persons with intellectual disability. In May 2000 the Foundation opened a centre in Cologne, housing 11 social institutions, in the presence of Malta's Ambassador, William C. Spiteri.

This centre has now been enlarged by the project "Art of Life - European Arts Forum". Art of Life is built up and managed by the Gold Kraemer Foundation of and Lebenshilfe Nordrhein-Westfalen.

The opening was held late last month followed by an international workshop for people with disability in all fields of creative activities like painting, sculpture, computer art, ceramics, dance, music, theatre, clay work and so on.

This first workshop gave more than 50 persons with disability coming from 10 European Union and applicant countries the possibility to show their creative and artistic qualities and to learn how to develop them.

Malta was represented by a delegation of seven persons, led by Marcel Pisani, manager of the Supported Living Division (Persons with Disability), within the Foundation for Social Welfare Services.

Mr and Mrs Kraemer made a donation of E1,200 to make the delegation's participation possible.

Memorable evening at Sala Isouard

Recently the Sala Isouard of the Manoel Theatre was the venue of a truly memorable evening: the inauguration of Philip Chircop's exhibition of abstract paintings.

During the last few years, Chircop has held various one-man exhibitions in Europe, but this season, the artist is exhibiting in our island's cultural hub.

The official opening was launched with a concert by the Janascharco Trio (Natascha Chircop, Tatjana Chircop and Marco Rivoltini). Presented by Dr Paul Xuereb, the programme included works by Quantz, Ibert and Simpson.

The composer, John Simpson, was present for the occasion, since the concert also included the world premiere of his Trio for Flute, Violin and Piano, which he composed for the Janascharco Trio, specifically for the occasion.

The painting exhibition was then officially opened by President Guido de Marco who expressed his appreciation of such a pleasant soirée of music and art. Present were numerous ambassadors and other distinguished guests.

Chircop has 57 paintings exhibited and the exhibition will be open to the public till Saturday.

Exhibition of portraits by Lawrence Buttigieg

President Guido De Marco on October 11 officially inaugurated an exhibition of paintings by Lawrence Buttigieg at the Corte Capitanale, Mdina.

The event was sponsored by the Mdina Rehabilitation Committee. Support was also provided by the Mdina council.

Buttigieg is currently showing a collection of portraits, nudes and landscapes. In-cluded in the exhibition is the official portrait of President de Marco.

Prior to the official inauguration, Professor Dennis de Lucca presented an overview of the artistic career of Buttigieg. In the Eighties, Buttigieg was his student at the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Malta.

The exhibition remains open for public viewing till the end of November (Monday to Friday - 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Saturday - closed; and Sunday - 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.)

Mediterranean Power celebrates 25 years of operation

Mediterranean Power Electric Co Ltd recently hosted business associates, customers, suppliers and other officials to a cocktail party at Portomaso Suite, St Julian's, to mark its 25th anniversary.

Guests included the British High Commissioner and Mrs Vincent Fean, and the Secretary of the Libyan People's Bureau, Mr Ali Nagem.

They were welcomed by Dr George Cassar, acting chairman, on behalf of the chairman, Ing. M.T. Khattabi, and Ing. Ahmed Bella Merai, general manager.

The event was also attended by the rest of the board of directors, namely Mr el Hadi Lawar, chairman of Public Electrical Works Co of Tripoli, Luay C. Toma, international sales & marketing director, FKI Group (UK), Bashir Madani, joint managing director, Libyan Arab Maltese Holding Co Ltd, and Ivan Falzon, chairman of Malta Government Investments Malta Ltd.

The guests were also addressed by Mr Nagem, who together with Dr Cassar, expressed his satisfaction at MPE's successful 25 years.

Corinthia Group staff celebrate Mexican style

The Corinthia Activities and Sports Club of the Corinthia Group of Companies celebrated the end of the sporting and social activities season in style, with a Mexican theme party in the colourfully decorated amphitheatre of the Group's Corinthia Jerma Palace Hotel in Marsascala.

More than 800 employees and partners attended the most entertaining evening, which consisted entirely of Mexican fare, including food, drinks, costumes, music and entertainment.

During the evening, Corinthia Group chairman Alfred Pisani presented trophies to the winners of the various intra-Group sporting activities held throughout the year, including football league and knock-out competitions, clay pigeon shooting, snooker, pool and billiards, darts, table-tennis, bowling and chess.

Apart from sports, the Activities and Sports Club, headed by its president, Anthony Bilocca, organises a number of social events throughout the year. These include the Continuous Service Anniversary Dinner, the Employee of the Year in all the countries Corinthia operates in, the Group Christmas party and stage production, and other entertaining events.

The Club also produces the Group's in-house staff magazine The Corinthian, which is distributed to all Corinthia employees, in Malta and abroad.

Carlsberg winner gets free flight

Pauline Talbot of Tarxien is the lucky winner of the Carlsberg Campus Fest promotion held in collaboration with Howard's Travel and Lufthansa Airlines. Ms Talbot won a free flight to any European destination of her choice.

She was presented with her prize by Michael Gatt of Howard's Travel and Alison Bezzina, Carlsberg's brand executive.

All those who purchased two bottles of Carlsberg beer at Campus Fest received a ticket to participate in the Carlsberg promotion. They could also win exclusive branded freebies and participate in the Carlsberg Human Football Table game, which was set up during the three-day festival for Carlsberg drinkers.

Honorary degree for Edward de Bono

Leading authority in creative thinking, innovation and the direct teaching of thinking as a skill, Professor Edward de Bono, was awarded an honorary degree in design last month from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University during a special conferring ceremony.

Professor de Bono was honoured by the university for his contribution to the development of thinking, his work teaching creative and conceptual thinking to many organisations, governments, community and schools, and his efforts to promote thinking to the young.

"RMIT University is proud to honour Professor Edward de Bono for his services to education and the community, his reputation in the field of lateral thinking, and his current relationship with RMIT University," Professor Robin Williams, Dean of the Faculty of Art, Design and Communication, said.

"Professor de Bono has supported the initiation of a co-operative relationship between the de Bono Institute in Melbourne and RMIT University, especially in participating in and contributing to the programmes being developed for the Centre for Excellence in Digital Design at RMIT University."

Following his conferring of an RMIT Doctor of Design (honoris causa) degree, Professor de Bono gave an address on innovative thinking and its role in the future of design.

Born in Malta, Professor de Bono was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford, holds an MA in psychology and physiology from Oxford, a D. Phil. in Medicine and a Ph.D. from Cambridge.

He has held academic appointments at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, London and Harvard. Professor de Bono's background in self-organising systems led to derive an understanding, which he then applied to neural networks of the brain.

His methods are now mandatory on the school curriculum in many countries and widely used in many others. He has written 67 books with translations into 37 languages and has presented lectures in 57 countries.

The de Bono Institute in Mel-bourne and the Edward de Bono Foundation (Malta), among others, are NGOs that assist people and organisations by introducing design and creative thinking into education, government, business and social organisations.

The Edward de Bono Institute for the Design and Development of Thinking has been set up at the University of Malta, where Edward de Bono was appointed Visiting Professor in 1993.

Dr de Bono last Monday delivered the key address at the International Airline Internal Audit conference at the SAS Radisson Bay Point Resort, St Julian's.

Customs Day celebrated

For the sixth consecutive year, the Customs Department celebrated Customs Day. Although still in its infancy this year the activity has attracted the interest of most of the 600-strong Customs officials who attended the final activity.

The morning activities were highlighted with members of the department donating blood. In the evening, the programme started with the traditional Mass said on the Customs quay.

The celebrants were the port chaplain, Fr John Muscat, and his assistant, and the airport chaplain, Fr Victor Enriquez.

Among those present for Mass were the director general of Customs and Mrs Alfred Pace, the personal assistant of Finance Minister John Dalli and Mrs Debono, and the designate director general of Customs and Mrs Mifsud.

The enjoyable evening came to an end with a reception.

Drink a classic, drive a classic

For many Ferrari enthusiasts, driving Ferrari models like the 360 Modena, 550 Barchetta, Ferrari 456 GTA and the 550 Maranello is only a dream, but thanks to Stella Artois and Henry J. Beans, for Neil Macklin, this dream became a reality.

"I don't often enter competitions, but getting the chance to win a trip to Belgium to drive the Ferraris by drinking pints of Stella Artois at Hanks while watching the Grand Prix seemed to be a competition made for me!"

Neil Macklin was announced winner of the Stella Artois Ferrari competition at Hanks on September 29. Only nine days later, he was whisked off to Stella Artois' home town, Leuven, in Belgium.

The three-day trip was dominated by excitement and lots of pampering. The kick-off was dinner at De Kansel, situated in the centre of Leuven, where participants of various nationalities discussed their expectations for the big day, during a fine meal washed down with pints of Stella.

The next morning the participants were transferred to the race circuit Spa Francochamps. After breakfast and a briefing in the VIP lounge, they finally pushed their adrenalin levels to the limit, while driving the various Ferrari models, guided by instructors in special driving technique exercises.

The unforgettable day for the guests came to an end with a demonstration drive around the track in the 360 Modena Challenge car and the 355 Challenge car piloted by professional drivers.

Sharing Neil's experience were also Donald Camilleri, owner of Goodfellas Pub in Bugibba and Ms Maria Micallef, general manager of Falcon Wines and Spirits Co Ltd., distributors of Stella Artois in Malta.

They've gone to Long Beach, California!

Lucky IMAX visitor Sarah Borg and guest Michele Stellini have set off on their dream holiday in Long Beach, California, thanks to the IMAX Vodafone Theatre, EC Travel and Lufthansa.

Sarah Borg, together with thousands of Sunday Times readers and Cyberworld visitors sent in their entries for the CyberWorld competition at the Imax Vodafone Theatre, but only she was picked!

Sarah and Michele left on Friday at 1 p.m. with Lufthansa German Airlines and are staying on the luxury liner Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. Winners will be visiting Disney World, Knotts Berry Farm, Hollywood and a number of theme parks.

EC Travel representatives will be in Long Beach this week to see that the winners are pampered as much as possible.

Sarah and Michele were given Lm100 worth of Simpsons presents to travel in Simpson style from Eyespy in Sliema.

Sarah, an aspiring psychologist studying at the University of Malta, spent the last week trying to understand how she's suddenly become so lucky. "I never won anything in my whole life - imagine, my ticket out of thousands! It's IMAX magic!".

Look out for many other great competitions being held at the IMAX Vodafone Theatre - you could be next!

Maltese footballers in friendly match against Royal Navy

A team of Maltese football players played against the HMS Southampton football team at St Aloysius Football Pitch recently.

After the match, won by the Royal Navy, all the players were treated to drinks in the Visitors' Lounge at Farsons Brewery. HMS Southampton visited Malta as part of the commemoration of Operation Pedestal.

The Malta side was composed of Ian Giles, Lino Said, Paul Ellul, Stephen Grech, Lawrence Zammit, Paul Vella, Daniel Grima, Mark Migneco, Luke Vella, James Farrugia, Karl Mercieca, Enrico Overend, Chris Mamo, Ramon Naudi, Mario Ellul, Lee Connell and Carlo Degiovanni.

For Your Diary

The Mission Fund is holding a grand bazaar, in aid of Third World countries, at City Lights Arcades, St John Street, Valletta, from tomorrow to Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Malta Catholic Action is holding a San Martin lunch at the Qawra Palace Hotel on Sunday at 12.30 for 1 p.m. Phone 2122-2239.

A Card Party in aid of the Little Sisters of the Poor will be held at the Preluna Hotel, Sliema, on Wednesday, November 6, from 10 a.m. Phone Blanche Martin on 2133-0387.

The President and Mrs de Marco's engagements - October 28-November 3

Tomorrow
9.10 a.m. The President and Mrs de Marco depart Malta International Airport to Warsaw for a state visit to Poland.

Tuesday
10 a.m. The President and Mrs de Marco are welcomed by Aleksander Kwasniewski, President of the Republic of Poland, and Mrs Kwasniewski at the official welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace.
10.30 Separate meetings between President de Marco and President Kwasniewski, and Mrs de Marco and Mrs Kwasniewski.
10.45 President de Marco and President Kwasniewski preside over official talks between delegations.
11.35 President de Marco and President Kwasniewski deliver Press statements.
12.10 p.m. President de Marco lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
1.15 President de Marco attends a business forum organised by the Warsaw Chamber of Commerce at the Bristol Hotel.
4.30 The President and Mrs de Marco meet the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Joseph Glemp.
5.55 The President and Mrs de Marco tour the Royal Castle.
7.30 The President and Mrs de Marco attend a State dinner in their honour, hosted by President and Mrs Kwasniewski, at the Presidential Palace.

Wednesday
9 a.m. President de Marco meets Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland.
10.30 The President meets Marek Borowski, Speaker of the Polish Parliament (Sejm).
11 The President meets Longin Hieronim Pastusiak, Speaker of the Senate.
12.15 p.m. The President is interviewed by the Polish Press.
1.40 The President is hosted to a working lunch by Leszek Miller, Prime Minister of Poland.
4 The President delivers a lecture entitled "Have Medium and Small Countries a role in International Affairs?" at the Warsaw School of Economics.
5.15 The President meets the members of the Polish Chamber of Tourism.
7 The President and Mrs de Marco attend a performance of the opera Idomeneo by Handel at the Warsaw Chamber Opera House.

Thursday
7 a.m. The President and Mrs de Marco leave Warsaw for Malta.
7.30 p.m. The President receives delegates of the International Conference on Mental Health, organised by the MUMN at the Palace, Valletta.

Friday
9.30 a.m. The President inaugurates a seminar organised by the Chamber of Architects entitled "The Culture of Sustainability: Sustainability as a Culture" at the Aula Magna, Foundation for International Studies, Old University Building, St Paul Street, Valletta.
6 p.m. The President receives a group of French students from Notre Dame GGU Tont from Bretagne at the Palace, Valletta.

Saturday
8.30 p.m. The President and Mrs de Marco attends a dinner hosted by the president and committee members of the Marsa Sports Club at the club's premises.

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