A new think-tank, the Valletta Creative Forum (VCF), with a view to expose the value of the arts on a social and economic level, was launched yesterday during a press conference held at the St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity.

The forum was set up in collaboration with the British Council, St James Cavalier, the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts and the Tourism and Culture Ministry. Foundation for Creativity chairman Michael Fenech said the VCF will tackle the challenges Malta faces in the fields of culture and the arts through a series of workshops.

A six-month national forum will bring together artists, policy-makers, institutions, politicians, business entrepreneurs and professionals from Malta and abroad to stimulate a debate over the current cultural issues. The participants, who will be organised in working groups, will put forward their recommendations on how to generate new ideas for Malta’s creative industries.

The VCF workshops will discuss the cultural governance in Malta, the role of artists in the health sector, Maltese art therapy practitioners, creativity and innovation in Malta’s local communities, the Maltese show business and cultural diplomacy.

Forum coordinator Toni Attard said the forum will be addressed by a number of renowned keynote speakers.

He mentioned Dr Ritva Mitchell, a political scientist specialised in cultural research; Dr Philip Hammond, creative director of the Rediscover Northern Ireland Programme; Brian Chapman, director of Lime art – a promoter of arts projects in health care – and Aidan Dooley, a performer at National Museums in England.

Tourism and Culture Ministry Permanent Secretary Peter Portelli said the country is going through a lot of changes and this is also true of the arts and culture scenario.

Hence the need for a platform whereupon culture and the arts can be discussed.

He praised the forum for its initiatives and assured that suggestions will be taken into consideration during the drafting of a policy paper on culture.