The European Commission’s Directorate for Education and Culture has chosen to finance eight projects of various local organisations cooperating with others from several countries. The directorate will fund EURO 2.1 million of the total expenditure, with the rest to be financed by the organisations involved.
Under the EU’s programme Culture 2000, Malta had eight projects chosen from a total of 233 the cost of which amounted to a staggering EURO 32 million. Culture 2000 is an EU funding programme which supports transitional cooperation projects in the cultural fields such as performing arts, visual arts, heritage and literature.
The seven-year Culture 2000 programme (2000-2006) aims to encourage creativity and mobility of artists, public access to culture, the dissemination of art and culture, inter-cultural dialogue and knowledge of the history and cultural heritage of the peoples of Europe.
Its general objective is to create a shared cultural area, bringing people together while preserving their national and regional diversity. Heritage was Culture 2000’s priority area for 2004. In fact, seven of the eight projects involving Maltese participation fall under the heritage category. The Maltese organisations receiving funding are Heritage Malta, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, the University of Malta and the Resources and Infrastructure Ministry.
“It is very encouraging that eight of the 233 projects chosen are Maltese.
This shows that there is a lot of interest in EU-funded programmes aimed at encouraging creativity and mobility of artists.
It also goes to show that the Maltese are willing to grab all the opportunities coming their way by way of European Union membership,î Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said yesterday while presiding over a press conference to announce the chosen projects.
Heritage Malta, the national agency for local heritage is participating in three projects, one of them as a project leader. This latter project, entitled The significance of cart-ruts in ancient landscapes, is being led by Maltese experts from the Restoration Unit within the Resources and Infrastructure Ministry, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority and the University of Malta. Other co-organisers include the University of Urbino in Italy and the Spanish Aproteco.
This project aims to document and interpret a number of archaeological sites containing cart-ruts and other related features. Landscapes with cart-ruts are known to exist in Sicily, Sardinia, Spain, Italy, Greece, France and Malta. The study of cart-ruts is critical for the understanding of past human interaction with certain landscapes across Europe.
Two sites have been chosen for this project. One is in Malta and another in Spain. The site in Malta is located at Misrah Ghar il-Kbir, covering an area of about 250,000 square metres. The site is highly adequate for the implementation of a documentation programme of landscape rich in historical and archaeological features.
The total budget for this project is EURO 296,600 of which the EU will grant EURO 145,900. The duration of the project is one year and the studies and finding will be disseminated through various methods, including video animations on the internet and other forms of media.
Another project is being led by the Councillorship for Culture of the Province of Modena in Italy. This province and its partners in Germany, Greece and Heritage Malta intend to develop a project that will focus on the cultural enhancement of historic buildings through the interaction between historical research and contemporary artworks. The total budget for this project is EURO 136,484 of which EURO 66,257 will be funded by the EU.
The third project is led by the Comune di Spoleto and the University of Malta is one of the co-organisers. This project intends to analyse the protection and highlighting of specific European territorial areas that are characterised by their strong spiritual significance, presenting a rich religious and landscape heritage at European level. The total budget for this project is EURO 290,000 of which half will be EU-funded.
Another project is also led by the Istituto per le Tecnologie Applicate ai Beni Culturali and the Restoration Unit within the Resources and Infrastructure Ministry is one of the co-organisers. The project has the aim of implementing a Dynamic Modular Information System as a tool to promote multidisciplinary integrated conservation of old citadels. The total budget for this project is EURO 254,650 of which the EU will fund EURO 124,650.
Milites Templi is the title of another project which aims to highlight and safeguard the historic and artistic heritage of the Order of Templars (1118-1312), which stand out for the wealth of architectural structures including churches, castles and houses in many countries. The European Unit within the University of Malta is one of the co-organisers of this project for which EURO 298,017 has been voted.
Heritage Malta is one of the co-organisers of yet another project with entails a cooperation agreement over three years to safeguard and interpret the cultural heritage surrounding the ëMediterranean trilogyí, examining the culture of bread, wine and oil in the Mediterranean region. The project has a total budget of EURO 886,685 of which the EU will pay EURO 438,141.
Crossings: Movement of People and Cultures is the title of yet another programme of which the Superintendence of Cultural heritage is one of the co-organisers. The aim of this project is to organise two thematic touring exhibitions, one on the subject of the Crusades and a second one on Contemporary Art. These exhibitions are expected to tour different locations in Cyprus, Greece, Italy, France and Malta. The total budget for this project is EURO 1.5 million of which the EU will fund EURO 896,773.
The last project chosen has the Voice of the Mediterranean Radio as one of the co-organisers. This project, for which EURO 300,000 has been budgeted, half of which will be funded by the EU, will see encounters between specialists of live art, especially of theatre.