Thirteen government scholarships in creativity were handed out by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi this afternoon in a ceremony during which he pointed out that a record 430 scholarships would have been awarded by the end of this year.

Dr Gonzi said the scholarships were a statement of the government's intention to invest further in Malta's young people.

Investment in creativity, he said, was investment in individuals and the country.

This was investment in talent and ideas which were the seeds of new and innovative products and services.

The creative industry, he pointed out, had a direct impact on the economy and created new value-added jobs n ICT, films, art and design and the performing arts.

Creativity also supported sectors such as tourism, manufacturing industry and entertainment.

Dr Gonzi noted that by the end of this year, the government would have awarded 1,092 scholarships in the past five years since the scheme was created. The total investment was of €9.7 million.

This, he stressed, was an investment which would pay dividends to the country.

Today's scholarships were awarded as follows:

Singers, musicians and theatre performers: Hollie Cassar - post graduate diploma in musicaltheatre; Melanie Zammit - Vocal higher diploma (contemporary); Gabriella Sultana - Post-masters in soloist contemporary music and Clare Ghigo - Bachelor of Music (Honours) Voice.

Dancers: Elena Zammit - NBS diploma in dance; Sandra Mifsud - Masters in dance theatre and Bettina Von Brockdorff - Instructor de Baile II (Spanish dance).

Visual Arts: Joseph Calleja - Masters in Fine Arts; Adrian Scicluna - Masters in Fine Arts; Geneva Corlett - BA Hons Fashion Design Technology; Sarah Galea - BA Computer Games Design; Sarah Mifsud - Foundation course in art and design and Rozanne Gatt - BA (Hons) Graphic Design.