A new breed of Maltese - learning in Europe

About 1,000 Maltese people have used EU funds to spend some time in Europe over the past year, studying, training, exchanging ideas, doing voluntary work or learning to do a job better, according to the latest figures.

Over the last four years, the figure is close to 3,000. Hundreds of thousands of euros have been spent by the EU on helping Maltese people enrich themselves through the various educational and exchange programmes on offer to students and workers across the continent.

The participants will have had the opportunity to pick up another language, see a different culture, learn new skills, grasp new ideas and find out new ways of tackling problems.

Antonella Seguna, the communications officer of the European Union Programmes Unit in Valletta, said a significant percentage of the population, including schoolchildren, university students, factory workers, managers and trainers have benefited from these programmes since Malta started to participate in them a few years ago.

"Since Malta's EU accession the funding and opportunities have increased considerably and nowadays there is a wider response from individuals, private companies, academic institutions and non-government organizations," she said.

The unit is made up of the three national agencies for European Commission programmes: Leonardo da Vinci, which focuses on funding vocational training; Socrates, focused on formal education; and Youth, concerned with informal education such as voluntary work.

"Leonardo da Vinci, Socrates and Youth programmes are continuously working for the development of quality education and life-long learning in Malta and Gozo," said Ms Seguna.

"This is a success story of school children, young people, teachers, trainers, EUPU officers and many others participating in EU programmes for formal and non-formal education."

One member of the new breed of Maltese taking advantage of such valuable learning opportunities is Ryan Bugeja, a young man from the Salesian Youth Pastoral Service who is doing voluntary work in a boarding school in Klagenfurt, Austria, under the Youth programme's European Voluntary Service (EVS).

"The first temptation to do an EVS came from the fact that I wanted to experience youth work abroad," he said.

"The second, yet important spark for me, was that I was going to finish my last year at University. I realised that if I started a career now, it would be from now till when I retire. Did I want that? Certainly not! I wanted to experience something that would serve me throughout my life, while giving something worthy to others."

Mr Bugeja is in a project entitled Children and Youth Assistance, forming part of a team of educators helping youths aged between 14 to 20 who come to Klagenfurt to pursue their studies in a technical high school. His main task is to monitor students to do their work properly.

EVS is not a holiday, he stresses. "You work in a different culture, sometimes with people with difficult characters. Going to a country in which you know the language definitely helps, but it is not essential as the host organisation is obliged to pay tuition for a language course."

Thirteen unemployed youths recently obtained work exposure in quality hotels and restaurants in Ireland over a period of 12 weeks, through the Leonardo da Vinci Programme. It was the Employment and Training Corporation's way of giving them an opportunity to improve their skills and employability.

One of them, Daniel Paul Zammit, attended a placement in Galway, receiving a certificate which he sees as opening doors to employment opportunities in Malta. He also learnt how to tolerate other cultures and other people's ways of thinking, he said, while the need to speak English all the time allowed him to improve his language skills.

The EU programmes recently moved to new premises and is now located at 36, Old Mint Street, Valletta. Tel. 2124 3237, fax. 2123 1589.

EU educational programmes at a glance

¤ Socrates tries to contribute to the development of quality education and lifelong learning. It covers the areas of school, higher, adult, language and distance education. Its aim is to strengthen the European dimension of education at all levels, improve knowledge of European languages, promote cooperation and mobility in all areas of education and encourage innovation in education.

¤ Leonardo da Vinci seeks to improve the skills and competencies of people, especially young people, in initial vocation and training. It also tries to improve the quality of and access to vocational training and lifelong acquisition of skills and competencies, as well as reinforcing the contrbition of vocational training to the process of innovation in business.

¤ Youth aims to allow young people to acquire knowledge and skills and to exercise responsible citizenship, through inducing a greater sense of solidarity, involving them in the European ideal and encouraging a spirit of initiative, enterprise and creativity. It involves exchanges between groups or youth workers, voluntary service and cooperation between youth organisations and local or national authorities.