For the fifth consecutive year, HSBC Malta celebrated World Water Day with a number of events designed to promote the notion of effective water conservation in Malta.
The celebrations were launched with the opening of an art exhibition by St Ignatius College students at the Palace, Valletta. Inaugurated by President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, the exhibition Ilma (Maltese for water) showcased artworks on the theme of water. All the 55 art pieces are to be sold.
Proceeds from this initiative will be donated to the L-Istrina fund. Participating students also presented the President with €605 raised from last year’s sales.
The exhibition has since moved to HSBC Malta Head Office in Archbishop Street Valletta, where it is open to the public until the end of April.
On the eve of World Water Day, held annually on March 22, students from Valletta Primary and San Ġwann Primary carried out street fundraising in St George’s Square. Monies were collected for Missio Malta, which is running a water sanitation programme in Zambia.
But perhaps it was the HSBC Water Programme-sponsored Secondary School Quiz which attracted the greatest participation. Now in its third year, this quiz saw the participation of 21 secondary schools from across Malta and Gozo. Questions were themed around water and with the support of the Department for Curriculum, Research Innovation and Lifelong Learning.
The 2018 quiz edition was held at St Benedict College Kirkop Middle School and was won by the Archbishop’s Seminary in Rabat. A unique feature of the event this year was the donation of funds by participating schools to Missio Malta for their Zambia project. Last year’s winners, St Theresa College Mrieħel, shared their experience following a recent visit to the European Parliament. The students were addressed by the Minister for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change, José Herrera. The Gozo Ministry organised a student activity at Għar Ilma, which was restored in 2016 thanks to the funds by HSBC Water Programme. Additionally, students also visited an underwater gully of the Aqueducts, as well as the Għadira ta’ San Raflu, where they were greeted Gozo Minister Justyne Caruana.
World Water Day was designated by the UN in 1993 and since then has been marked around the world around a chosen theme. This year it is ‘Nature for Water’.
Since 2013, HSBC has invested close to €1 million on water conservation projects in Malta.
HSBC Malta executive committee member George Brancaleone.