Schools take part in competition on Giuseppe Garibaldi

Italian Ambassador Paolo Andrea Trabalza, assisted by Anthony DeGabriele, principal education officer at the Ministry of Education, recently launched a competition among Maltese secondary schools to commemorate the bicentennial of the birth of Giuseppe Garibaldi (July 4, 1807-June 2, 1882), hero of the Italian Risorgimento and worldwide well-known champion of democratic values and principles of the 18th century.

The following 16 Maltese schools, among which one from Gozo, participated in this initiative:

Naxxar Boys' Secondary School; Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary School (Naxxar); St Martin's College (Swatar); Lorenzo Gafà Boys' Secondary School (Vittoriosa); Carlo Diacono Girls' Junior Lyceum (Zejtun); St Benedict's College Girls Secondary School (Tarxien); Dun G. Zammit Brighella Boys' Junior Lyceum (Hamrun); Guzeppi Despott Boys' Junior Lyceum (Hamrun); Maria Assumpta Girls' Secondary School (Hamrun); San Andrea Senior School (Zebbiegh); Canon Pawl Pullicino Girls' Secondary School (Rabat); St Theresa Girls' Junior Lyceum (Mriehel); Dun Karm Psaila Boys' Secondary School (Zebbug); Sliema Boys' Junior Lyceum; Sir Adrian Dingli Girls' Junior Lyceum (Pembroke); and Bishop's Conservatory Girls' Secondary School (Victoria).

The ambassador and Mr DeGabriele visited the schools, accompanied by the director of the Italian Cultural Institute, Anna Maria Di Marco, and Bernadette Gerada, education officer within the Ministry of Education.

All the participating schools showed an impressive degree of commitment and enthusiasm and presented high-quality works on the life and figure of Garibaldi. The presence of the Italian hero in Malta in 1864 was particularly highlighted by Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary School students, who dedicated an exposition and representation on Garibaldi's life.

The schools will be awarded a certificate, while special prizes will be given to the three schools with the best performances. The first prize is Lm200, the second Lm150 and the third Lm100, donated by Middlesea Insurance. The sum shall be directed towards the improvement of teaching facilities in the department of Italian in the respective schools. Due to the high level of participation, a further prize is under consideration.

The prize-giving ceremony will be held on the occasion of the VII Settimana della lingua italiana nel mondo (VII Week of Italian Language in the World), which will take place, in Malta as well as in the rest of the world, from October 22 to 27.