A matter of identity

Anyone walking into our capital city will, for the coming weeks, come face to face with a marvellous installation that completely changes the physiognomy of an otherwise bland and functional Freedom Square. The car park is alive with 50 colourful portraits that hide and reveal, at the same time, a unique and fascinating story. They give a vitality and energy to the space and transform it into an art gallery.

Titled Minn Fejn Int? Where Are You From? these portraits project and reflect the intercultural lifestyle that characterises contemporary Malta. These islands of ours, situated as they are bang in the middle of the historically-turbulent Mediterranean, have witnessed so many comings and goings. Some come to rape and plunder; others to civilise and build. No matter how short or long the stay, all comers left an indelible legacy to our history and identity.

Were it through an oppressive or a beneficial encounter, our constantly-evolving identity has absorbed myriad cultural fragments and transformed us in the way we live, speak, think, eat and look. As Maltese we emerge from a multitude of identities that have moulded us into a unique identity. The work of Norbert Attard, the installation mirrors the strength and power of art in a multifaceted way. The 50 individuals in the portraits reveal themselves through their physiognomy.

They give us a sample of Maltese people, illustrating that we are a multicultural breed while presenting unique stories about individuals who lead different lives and experience different realities in a culturally-diverse environment.

We are proud of our Maltese identity, an identity that stems from long years of strong cultural interactions with others. It is an identity that we cherish and nourish, even as we move through changes that might awaken apprehension and fear in some, as we move through a renaissance of our cultural heritage and patrimony that is so vast that we have only just started to comprehend its magnitude and value.

A heritage that necessitates an injection of lifeblood to restore and renovate, to maintain in all the glory it deserves. It is our cultural heritage that will be the foundation of our tourism industry. It will be a crucial factor in the economic performance of our country.

Ironically, the launch of Mr Attard's artistic exposè took place on the steps of the ruins of the Opera House, a venue that assumed a dignity and sad beauty of its own on a starlight evening with the shadows of the night muting its ugly edges. A space for the arts crying out to be regenerated.

We are moving towards the end of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. Our own St James Cavalier, as national co-ordinating body, has organised more than 50 events to mark the European Year in Malta.

Events in schools, which translated into our students, even the youngest, becoming aware of the concept of diversity, in supermarkets and in other places. Spearheaded by Toni Attard, the initiative reached far and wide, at times in the most subtle of manners. A further initiative of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue was a photo competition entitled Cultures On My Street for which 2,000 photographers submitted their work. There were four winners at the end and one of them is a Maltese entry. A great achievement not only for Joseph Smith but for us all.

This week saw the opening ceremonies at the University and at the Institute for Tourism Studies. Both educational institutions have attracted a substantial number of non-Maltese students and the numbers will continue to increase to reach the 5,000 target by the year 2015. These students will intermingle with their Maltese counterparts and there is no better forum for intercultural dialogue than the lecture room and the campus.

The ITS has grown in popularity in a short while. Many of the young men and women present at the short, simple opening ceremony will spend a year abroad, gaining experience which will serve them well when they return home to work in our hotels and elsewhere on the islands.

I have met some of the returnees. The change in them is amazing. They seem to blossom, gaining a dimension that can only be obtained after shedding some of the insularity that is also a national characteristic and part of our identity.

So many of our young people are lucky enough to travel abroad and gain study and work experience. Not even the most travelled of all holiday makers can lay claim to knowing a country and its people well. Holidays afford only superficial knowledge.

Ideally, as many as possible of the young, and not so young, generation should have the opportunity to work away from home for a while.

It's all part of growing up.

Ms Cristina is Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport.