Joseph Ganado has retired as chairman and member of the council of administration of The Strickland Foundation.

Prof. Ganado was appointed a member of the council by Mabel Strickland in 1979 when she established The Strickland Foundation for specific public benefit purposes. These include the promotion of democratic principles, human rights and journalism. He took over as chairman after the death of Guido de Marco.

Although appointed for life, Prof. Ganado, now 87, felt it was important to make space for new and younger members of the council as the foundation faces new challenges due to the changing face of journalism and related technologies, apart from the major changes taking place in the values of democratic society in general.

The foundation is currently running a journalism internship scheme for people wishing to take up journalism as a career, and has also established a link with the Department of English at the University. This is meant to provide sponsorship and opportunities for practice in writing for the media.

To further strengthen the foundation’s resources, the council last year appointed Victor Aquilina, a former editor of The Times, as the foundation’s CEO, and has recently also appointed Marcel Cassar as a new member of the council. Mr Cassar is an accountant by profession and has held senior management positions in banking, financial services and regulation.