The Għaqda Każini tal-Banda has been awarded the European Parliament’s prestigious European Citizens' Prize for 2017.

Maltese MEPs nominated the Għaqda Każini tal-Banda – on the 70th anniversary of its founding – for the Citizens’ Prize in recognition of its role in promoting cross-border musical cooperation with its twinning agreements with other European towns and villages and enhancing in Maltese society the European values of tolerance and solidarity.  Moreover, Maltese band clubs are drivers of societal engagement particularly for youth and women and help reinforce ties across generations, MEPs said.

MEPs Roberta Metsola (EPP), Miriam Dalli (S&D) and Francis Zammit Dimech (EPP) commended the deep-rooted role of the band clubs in Maltese society.

Members encouraged the representatives of the Għaqda Każini tal-Banda, the Maltese laureates, to attend the European ceremony of the European Citizens’ Prize on October 11.

“This prize will raise the level of our activity Europe-wide, reinforcing and enhancing our long-standing musical, cultural and educational traditions,” president Noel Camilleri said.

The prize will also help do away with the undeserved stigma placed on band clubs by certain parts of Maltese society, he said.

"As recognised by the MEPs, we are a core part of our identity as a nation.  We have also come a long way in our history”. 

Since 2008, the European Citizens’ Prize has recognised projects and initiatives that promote EU values, mutual understanding and facilitate cross-border cooperation.