Education Minister Dolores Cristina hoped that literature and books would have an important profile in the creative context of the vision for 2018. She was speaking at the opening of the national book fair being held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, saying that though the book does not offer the spectacle of opera, the theatre, music or dancing, it would be paralysing a crucial aspect to ignore the book.

The book fair, she said, draws many people every year but it is not known what is drawing them and what effect it has. One survey after another shows that the Maltese reading public remains relatively low.

Mirrors and Windows, a report by the Agenzija Zghazagh, shows there is a serious deficit in reading by the young. 37.5 per cent said they do not read regularly, and 40 per cent do not even read a newspaper.

And there are only 16 per cent of young people who read in Maltese. Writers are among the most creative people and the government is helping authors and book-writing but to overcome the indifference to reading innovative ideas and strategies are needed. A bigger effort is needed as well.

There are those, Ms Cristina said, who mention the need to take the Maltese book abroad, through translation, and it was not impossible to create joint ventures which could involve the government, the university, entities such as the Art and Culture Council, the Maltese Language Council and the Creativity Centre.

The National Book Council is doing its bit and the government is considering a strategy and solutions so that its work and that done by others would be complemented by permanent, strong structures.