This year marks the 40th anniversary of the foundation of Din l-Art Helwa, the national trust of Malta.

In 1965, Malta was newly independent. There was a palpable air of hope and excitement about the huge challenges which lay ahead. This newspaper wrote that "the enthusiasm shown by all those who attended the inaugural meeting of Din l-Art Helwa", in a packed Manoel Theatre, "was a clear indication of the growing interest in, and ever-increasing concern for, our national heritage".

The role then of Din l-Art Helwa was clear. It remains the same today: to safeguard Malta's rich cultural heritage and the natural environment.

In the spirit of the times, and reflecting the concerns which had led to its creation, Din l-Art Helwa was primarily a lobbying organisation. Its conservation and restoration roles followed later.

The art and craft of successful lobbying is both to provide informed and constructive criticism and to cajole and, if necessary, hassle and harry those who have the power to make decisions. As executive president Martin Scicluna put it : "To do this effectively Din l-Art Helwa has had to be prepared to speak truth unto power - however unpalatable that truth may sometimes be to those in power. This means offering clear, frank, unbiased, balanced, unvarnished but constructive criticism".

The mark, value and strength of Din l-Art Helwa's criticism has been that it has had no political axe to grind. It has always prided itself on being neutral between governments of whatever colour. "But", as Mr Scicluna pointed out, "to be neutral and impartial is not to be indifferent".

Over the last two or three years there has been a welcome upsurge of awareness about Malta's cultural heritage and an increasing determination to do something about safeguarding it. This is testimony to the success of Din l-Art Helwa's lobbying which it has conducted with all the energy and intellectual arguments it has been able to muster.

Equally important has been Din l-Art Helwa's hands-on conservation and restoration work. It has been directly responsible for saving for the nation almost two dozen historic sites or monuments.

Three more restorations are in prospect this year. One need not make too much of an effort to conclude that quite a few of these outstanding medieval, 17th century and 19th century historic monuments would have been lost if Din l-Art Helwa had not intervened physically to save them.

Thirteen of these properties are now in Din l-Art Helwa's hands. It opens them to the public and continues to conserve them and to bring them alive for the education and enjoyment of visitors.

For an organisation with no government funding, with no funding of its own other than what it could raise by way of sponsorship and donations, and made up entirely of volunteers, it is a remarkable achievement.

No mention of Din l-Art Helwa's first four decades can overlook the early leadership of one man: its founder president, Judge Maurice Caruana Curran. He was the inspiration for Din l-Art Helwa and its leader, mentor and advocate. His creation, together with others, of Din l-Art Helwa in 1965 was a timely and far-seeing act.

Thanks to him and to the countless volunteers who have given Din l-Art Helwa their unstinting support in promoting the vital cause of Malta's cultural heritage and the environment, we are at a position today where their importance is more widely valued than ever before.

May Din l-Art Helwa continue to flourish.