Competition raises awareness of Maltese-German connections
German Ambassador to Malta Hubert Ziegler awarding the first prize to Luke Scicluna in the presence of Arthur Ciantar, president of the German-Maltese Circle. Photo: Robert Sultana The University’s Department of German recently held an exhibition of...
[attach id="257748" size="medium"]German Ambassador to Malta Hubert Ziegler awarding the first prize to Luke Scicluna in the presence of Arthur Ciantar, president of the German-Maltese Circle. Photo: Robert Sultana[/attach]
The University’s Department of German recently held an exhibition of contributions sent by students of German and members of the public for a competition entitled Spot German in Malta that invited participants to spot things in Malta with a German connection.
Between January and April over 100 photos were sent in and the Facebook group German in Malta, where the photos were posted, grew to over 2,000 members.
Some participants sent in creative collages, including their own drawings, displayed together with German art products. Others submitted photos of German road signs and house names, showing that there are, for instance, several roads in Malta named after German scholars who researched Maltese history and culture.
One of the participants even sent in a photo of his dog reading a German magazine.
The competition was designed to highlight the pleasures of intercultural encounters and language learning. The broad interest in and support for this initiative confirmed that there is a large variety of Maltese-German connections, and that there is a growing interest in the German language, as one of the most widely spoken languages in the EU.
Inspired by this lively participation, the department has produced a brochure presenting local institutions where the German language is taught, such as the German-Maltese Circle, the Junior College and secondary schools, as well as information on applying for scholarships for German language courses and studying abroad.
The exhibition, which was held in the foyer of the Sir Temi Zammit Hall at the University’s Msida campus, can now be viewed at the German-Maltese Circle in Valletta.
The competition was held in collaboration with the German-Maltese Circle and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and was supported by the German Embassy in Malta, ProMinent, the Goethe Institute, BDL and Merlin Library.