The new Coordinating Board for Culture Projects will be chaired by Phyllis Muscat and include tenor Joseph Calleja, Ruth Bianco, Brian Schembri and Giorgina Portelli as its members.

In a statement the Government said the board had been set up to take stock of the cultural situation, foster and facilitate coordination among entities working in the field and serve as an incubator for new major cultural initiatives and capital projects.

It will also advise the government on aspects related to the industry, strengthen existing collabor-ation and establish cooper-ation with local and inter-national stakeholders.

The board will draw up a cultural roadmap, integrating initiatives and addressing gaps in the cultural scene, to give more value to Malta’s cultural assets as a source of identity and economic growth, it added.