Eclectic is an understatement when used to describe Dr SIMON MERCIECA, the coordinator of the Mediterranean Institute at the University of Malta. True to the diverse branches of his institute, Dr Mercieca, a historian by profession holding a doctorate from the Sorbonne University, is interested in several areas that truly mark him as a multi-disciplined person, as Bernard Busuttil found out.

When was the Mediterranean Institute set up?

The Mediterranean Institute was set up in 1985 in order to explore the two entities of diplomatic studies and humanities. The diplomatic studies part later seceded and the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies was formed in 1990.

The institute was the brainchild of Rev. Prof. Peter Serracino-Inglott, the institute’s chairman, who had great vision in perceiving culture as a weapon that could be used to propel development and dialogue between people.

Since the institute retained its humanities vocation, it has branched out into Anthropology, Geography, Hispanic Studies, History of Mediterranean Civilisation, Music Studies and Theatre Studies.

How does an institute that incorporates such diverse branches as geography and music studies contribute towards intercultural dialogue?

The six branches that make up the institute are all inter-related as they all treat different aspects of humanity. The courses are skewed towards a Mediterranean perspective, as one would expect of an island state whose shores are washed by that sea.

We must take care of all the countries around the Mediterranean, however not in the way politicians perceive the word country. They think in terms of fixed borders and forget that there is always movement in the periphery. This movement in the past has shown that it can trigger a certain chain of events that result in anything from war to migration.

Today, throughout the world, we are witnessing a great wave of migration; however, we feel mostly the one that pertains to our region which we feel is closer to us.

This phenomenon has contributed towards shifting the centre of importance. France and Germany used to be the more hit countries as asylum seekers and economic migrants from the East used to cross over and live in these countries. However, today we have something that was not expected before, that is boat people.

In the past, the notion of irregular migration was tied to land, hence the wave of migration towards France and Germany. However, what has happened at the periphery of the southern littoral of the Mediterranean has triggered the migration by sea, something previously unheard of.

This contributed towards shifting southwards the centre of importance and the notion of cultural migration. This new configuration of migration gave rise to several issues such as Islamic culture, veils and skin colour. It is interesting to note that while most of us would not imagine Maltese women going around veiled, our traditional faldetta (ghonnella) was a veil and its usage was only dropped a few decades ago.

The Mediterranean Institute is a keen promoter of intercultural dialogue. It is the head of network in Malta of the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures network. Coincidentally, the European Commission named 2008 as the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue.

Some branches of the Mediterranean Institute such as anthropology are the study of humanity, while geography is the study of our world and how we relate to it. As regards theatre and music studies, they are both tools to bring people together. Take music for example, it is based on notes and they are understood by one and all; a truly universal language, while the first letter of the alphabet varies according to the language.

What is the institute’s contribution towards music?

It is interesting to note that the elite of Maltese music lecture at the institute. They teach diverse subjects such as composition, performance, both in pianoforte and now also in strings as well as musicology, brass and woodwind instruments and conducting.

Since the course was incepted, the music in Malta received a strong boost and a strong improvement was noted in the sector. Our next step is to start teaching electronic music, a feat we are trying to accomplish by attracting foreign musicians.

Malta is very rich in music and the sheer number of Maltese musical works have provided an ideal field for our musicology students to conduct their research. To this end I would like to thank the Cospicua Archpriest Can. Joseph Mifsud for letting our students use the collegiate church’s extensive musical archives. A lot of music editing done by our students has been based on music found in those archives.

I would also like to thank Fr Albert Borg OSA and Mgr John Galea for their help in this regard.

In re-discovering old Maltese music, the Mediterranean Institute is giving a very valid contribution to the local music as well as to the history of Maltese music. However, the institute does not stop at editing the works but at giving public performances of the music edited by our students.

This year, the institute organised a weeklong choral festival in Malta called “Gloria 2007. Making music in Malta. A festival of Early music’. The festival featured works by Maltese composers such as Spiteri Fremond, Vassallo, Burlò and Galea. The performances included also works by Mendelssohn, Allegri, Vivaldi and Gounod.

This festival was produced through the institute’s participation in an EU project, Interreg IIIC towards the promotion of Culture, Competitiveness and Creativity. It was produced in collaboration with APS Bank and the University Cultural Cooperative (KKU). A recording of the festival is also available on eight CDs.

As you can see, the institute besides promoting Maltese music and training Maltese musicians, encourages the performing of their works and is striving to encourage our students to work outside the education sector, as most graduates end up as music teachers. This is the way forward nowadays, as more people are moving towards the cultural industries.

This industry is a bi product of humanities, and currently there are a lot of people making money out of culture. The opportunities for Maltese people in this sector have really grown in the last 20 years, and it is still growing. To this end, the country has to open up on these industries.

In the past, such culture, especially music, used to rely solely on the numerous band clubs found around Malta. They did and are still doing a lot of good work in encouraging young people to take up the study of music. However, young people have to move on if they want to advance in the field.

What about the other programmes?

At the History of the Mediterranean Civilisation Programme we cover from the beginnings of civilisation in the Mediterranean to the Roman Empire, the Byzantine and Islamic Empires to Modern and Contemporary Mediterranean, thus our students cover the region from pre-classical to modern times.

Students taking theatre studies learn about the history of theatre, its development, criticism as well as the psyche and all other mechanisms behind the versatility of the theatrical act. We are also working towards introducing a Master of Arts course in the science of performative creativity.

There is also the Geography Programme where students can take the subject within both the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Education at B.A. and B.A.(Hons.) levels.

The Anthropology Programme offers courses at BA levels and also publishes the Journal of Mediterranean Studies, an interdisciplinary journal devoted to the study of the cultures, societies and history of the Mediterranean. It is one of the leading journals in the field and is published twice yearly. The journal is widely subscribed to by most leading universities overseas and enjoys a wide circulation.

The other programme, Hispanic Studies, is an area of study currently offered by the Faculty of Arts and as a secondary subject for the B.A. degree. We are working towards developing it into a separate B.A. degree.

The institute is also currently working on establishing a B.A. degree in Mediterranean Civilisation as well as in Performing Arts.

Besides the Gloria music project, did the institute embark on other EU projects?

The institute embarked on two other projects, the first one being the current restoration of the Crucifix Chapel at parish church of Cospicua. The restoration is being carried on by a delegation from the Opificio delle Pietre Dure (the institution that restored the Beheading of St John by Caravaggio) in collaboration with the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze.

The other project was the creation of cultural itineraries for Rabat, Vittoriosa and Senglea.