Moviment Graffitti is gearing up for a series of seminars, food-tasting activities and a musical event aimed at highlighting the positive aspects of multi-culturalism, as part of a programme to facilitate the inclusion of irregular immigrants in Maltese society.

Harmony in Diversity, part of the EU Youth Programme (Action 3), will open with a photographic exhibition, entitled 1,000 Families, by renowned German photographer Uwe Ommer. The exhibition is supported by the NGO Kopin, and will be open to the public between Saturday, 23 September and Sunday, 1 October from 4pm to 7pm each day, at 60a Strait Street, Valletta.

On 24 September, the programme will resume with a professional food-handling course for immigrant participants, while during October, the following seminars will take place:

EU Law and Democracy, delivered by representatives of Forum Malta Fl-Ewropa (formerly known as MIC) on Saturday, 7 October at the Marsa Open Centre at 5pm and Sunday, 8 October at the Hal-Far Open Centre at 3pm.

Poverty in Africa and Europe’s Role, delivered by Vince Caruana on Saturday, 14 October at the Marsa Open Centre at 5pm and Sunday, 15 October at the Hal-Far Open Centre at 3pm.

Sharing experiences: An Interactive Discussion of Experiences of Integration, delivered by Harmony in Diversity Coordinators on Saturday, 21 October at Freedom Square, Valletta at 3pm, Sunday, 22 October at the Marsa Open Centre at 5pm and Sunday, 29 October at the Hal-Far Open Centre at 5pm.

The general public is invited to attend free of charge. These seminars will be of specific interest to NGOs and policy-makers, among others.

Immigrant participants in the professional food-handling course will then cook in food-tasting sessions every Sunday during November at Dar Frate Francesco in Mannarino Road, Birkirkara, between 5pm and 7pm. The general public may attend these sessions free of charge and savour traditional African cuisine.

The cooks involved in the food-tasting sessions will also be involved in Celebrating Harmony in Diversity through Music and Cuisine, the main event of this project. This will take place on Saturday, 16 December on the University Campus at Tal-Qroqq. Musicians and other performers of various nationalities will be participating.

The project will come to a close with the production of a calendar for 2008, which will include photographs of the daily lives of refugees in Malta. All profits from sales of the calendar will be directed to supporting NGOs and open centres.

The supporting organisations for the Harmony in Diversity project are Suret il-Bniedem, Dar Qawsalla and Kopin.