The importance of investing in human resources, especially when it comes to education, was underlined by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday when he inaugurated the first crafts incubation centre in Gozo.

The €850,000 (Lm364,905) project based in Għajnsielem - which included extending the Wistin Camilleri Gozo Centre for Art and Crafts and building a number of workshops making up the underlying incubation centre - also opens up new entrepreneurship possibilities for students who opt to take craft and art further than just a hobby.

"Our economy can only develop if we invest in education," Dr Gonzi said. In fact, the project brought together economy and education, two very important pillars for the country.

The project was mostly financed through the EU's Structural Funds Programme for Malta.

The Wistin Camilleri Gozo Centre for Art and Crafts started in 1989 with three courses for under 50 students. Today, more than 1,000 students of all ages - from children to the elderly - follow the 45 courses on offer.

Dr Gonzi met a class of people with a disability during an art lesson. They gave him a thank you card which they made themselves.

He said nowadays we are looking at people's abilities rather than their disabilities, adding that these young people were being trained so that they could be integrated within society.

"It is important to look at how we can invest in ourselves to make the most of our talents," he said. He also went round a number of workshops where students were working on ceramics, woodworks, clocks and stained glass.

Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono said the project not only offered educational opportunities but also an opportunity for Gozitans to set up their own business and generate employment in the field.

The crafts incubation centre is not only attended by Gozitans but also Maltese. A number of foreigners living on the islands have also shown interest in the courses.

Dr Gonzi was asked to cut a cake with an elaborate model of the crafts incubation centre on top of it. He joked it was almost a pity cutting it.

Earlier, Dr Gonzi attended a coffee morning in Marsalforn, organised by the Nationalist Party, and said that while under Nationalist governments Gozo had moved forward, it had been forgotten and allowed to fall backwards when the Labour Party was in power.

A Gozo-specific measure through which the government paid part of the salary of new workers employed with small and medium Gozo businesses led to the creation of 100 jobs in a year. He mentioned his government's scheme to reduce the cost of business licences, especially for Gozitan businessmen. This would leave more money in the hands of entrepreneurs, which, in turn, should translate into more work.

Moreover, his party's proposal for the widening of income tax bands would also help small businesses.

He said Gozo had seen a success story in tourism last year, adding that tourism was a catapult for creating jobs. He mentioned work on some five kilometres of roads and the new Mġarr terminal inaugurated last week.

Referring to his party's electoral manifesto, Dr Gonzi said the most important measure was that of turning Gozo into an ecological village. He pointed out that 10 per cent of the 353 proposals were aimed at Gozo.

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