Recently the EU Council of Ministers declared Valletta the European Capital of Culture for the year 2018. The decision brought to a positive conclusion the hard work of a year and a half carried out by the Valletta 2018 Foundation.

Let’s make V18 one event truly worth remembering – that of rejuvenating the city of Valletta

Undoubtedly, such a declaration entails a copious amount of work which needs to be carried out until that year comes about. Inthe meantime, Valletta will be celebrating its 450th anniversary. Also, the Dominican Order, which boasts of being endowed with the first parish in the capital city, will be celebrating the eighth centenary from the establishment of Black Friars in 1216 – not to mention that in 2016 the Basilica of Safe Havens and St Dominic will be celebrating the 200th anniversary from its institution.

As a city built by gentlemen for gentlemen, it stands to reason that such historical dates should be remembered and celebrated. Moreover, they could prove to be a good build-up for the V18 event.

However, it is of utmost importance that all those who are in some way or another involved, not only with this event but in the cultural, political and social life of the capital city, engage in rejuvenating Valletta. All of this hype would be useless and simply a waste of precious resources if no concrete action is taken to turn around the ever dwindling number of inhabitants living within the bastions that have withstood the test of time since their construction.

I fear that if no immediate action is taken to assist young couples who are eager to settle and raise a family within the capital city, Valletta will be doomed forever to be only bustling during the day when government and other private sector employees enter the city.

As the current president of the King’s Own Philharmonic Society, I feel this demographic problem continuously, either when calling a committee meeting or organising an event.

I am pretty sure that my fellow supporters of Valletta, who like me take an active role in other events held in the city, fully agree with this and look forward to the problem being addressed.

I urge the Administration to intervene and do something about the situation. Within the currently quoted 70,000 or so unoccupied dwellings, a handful exist in the city which the Government could easily earmark for renovation and then invite newly wedded or engaged couples to purchase at reasonable prices.

Doing so would not only ensure that new offspring are raised within the capital and bring life back to it in this way, but it could also have a snowball effect as new blood will be available to take over the running of non-profit organisations such as the musical society I am associated with.

As I continuously tell my undergraduate students, “cash is King” and, possibly, in current times “Queen and Jack” too.

I appreciate that this might not be on the Government’s radar but may I ask whether it is possible to utilise some of the €200 million or so of EU funding that we risk losing?

Could our current MEPs assist in this by helping the central government to build a strong case to create a stock of new dwellings that are within reach of the younger generation?

If yes, please do not let another opportunity go astray. Let’s make V18 one event truly worth remembering – that of rejuvenating the city of Valletta.

Ivan Grixti is a lecturer in Financial Accounting at the University of Malta.