As coordinator of a Leonardo da Vinci Project entitled EQF-FRAME (European Qualifications Framework - Flexible References and Methods of Evaluation), the Malta Qualification Council (MQC) organised a half-day conference to launch its deliverables. The conference was held on December 5 at the Radisson SAS Baypoint Resort, St George's Bay, St Julians and focused on a discussion on The Impact Of The EQF on Qualifications And The Tourism Industry.

The conference was chaired by MQC chairman Charles Mizzi. Among the speakers were the project partners and representatives from the Malta Tourism Authority and the Institute for Tourism Studies. MQC chief executive James Calleja opened the conference and Francis Borg, permanent secretary, Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport concluded the conference. The project had the following main tasks: to analyse training programmes and certification in tourism studies; to align national tourism qualifications to the EQF; and to produce an EQF manual and info tool and test them among stakeholders.

This project was possible thanks to the support of the Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme, the project partners from Austria, Italy, Spain, Greece and Slovenia as well as national partners such as training providers and stakeholders within the tourism sector. The objective of this conference was to assess the results of the two-year project and to discuss ways how to move forward.

The conference was attended by the project partners from the five foreign countries, as well as by various local stakeholders involved in education and the tourism sector. The conference was followed by the Final Project Partners' meeting. Further information on the EQF-FRAME project is available from the project website http://eqf.oeek.gr or from MQC's website www.mqc.gov.mt. Soft copies of the project's publications can also be obtained by dropping an e-mail to mqc@gov.mt.