A new public cultural organisation, Festivals Malta, which aims to provide festival promoters, event organisers, and other cultural organisations with a framework geared at ensuring excellence in the field, was launched at an event held at the Phoenicia Hotel in Floriana.

Speaking at the event, Minister for Culture Owen Bonnici said that the policy was a first for the country givens its holistic focus.

“Our country is full of talent, history and culture, which is why we it needs to be placed at the centre of this policy. 11,000 people are currently employed in these sectors, and we believe that  it can contribute significantly to the country’s economy, which is why 70 million Euros, 10% more than last year, has been allocated for next year’s budget,” Bonnici said.

Central to the organisations mandate is a framework establishing six key strategic goals, which aim to enhance participation, excellence, and innovation in the implementation of festivals and events on the island; increase their outreach and internationalisation; develop their marketing, technical, and communicative abilities; nurture quality and leadership; promote Malta as a cultural festival destination; and encourage sustainability.

The strategy calls for the introduction of a stable technological or digital platform that will drive funding, ticket sales, engagement, outreach, and promotion; this, it is explained, will allow a better understanding of audience demographics.

Director of Festivals Malta, Annabelle Stivala, explained that the framework will improve synergy and collaboration within the artistic community; and would also increase audience numbers and set deeper roots in cultural development.

This, she said, was vital in enriching the country’s core values and identity.

Albert Marshall, the Executive Chair at Arts Council Malta, which previously managed the preceding department to Festivals Malta, praised the creation of a new cultural organization, and said that their separation was key in further sustainable growth.

“We coexisted happily, but we were not devoting ourselves enough to each focus on our real remit,” Marshall said.