There has been a lot of talk about mass activities and whether they should be prohibited or not.
The challenge goes beyond simple business concerns which perhaps are the least worrisome compared to what faces other areas of activity, for the economic sector is quite “accustomed” to rise from the ashes. Other sectors are more fragile, though they are as important as the economy – indeed more: like education.
I doubt how possible it will be to postpone “mass activities” in schools by keeping them shut. The damage being done to the formation of children and young people is enormous. Still, methods exist by which in such “mass” activities that are not held for entertainment purposes but to meet vital social objectives, potential infective risks are cut down, indeed tapered off. Preparations for this should however to be going on as of now, in terms of how rules regarding behaviour are defined and then rigorously implemented. Presumably, they would govern the running of nurseries, classes, toilets, schoolyards, laboratories, canteens and not least transport systems for students.
I would like to believe that for the past weeks, such preparations have been proceeding at full speed... from within the ministry of education to the managements of primary and secondary schools, not forgetting tertiary colleges of education including the University. I thought that a huge publicity exercise would need to be carried out during the summer months to transmit messages regarding how all behavioural rules would apply.
I was mistaken. Public relations efforts in the educational area are it seems, being devoted to other topics.
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POLITICIANS AND WRITERS
As has always happened to the practice of literature in this country, that of politics now is also being considered as a hobby.
What one needs to rank in it are some “brilliant” outsider performances on the TV programme Xarabank, an easy way of saying things, and the reputation among people of being a nice guy. It’s all to the better if one has been practising some traditional profession especially without having participated at all in the ongoing work of a political party or of civic society... with the exception maybe of some band or football club, but even there, one needed to show what a nice guy one was.
That record would give one the credentials to immediately shoot for the top job. If whoever is now holding the top job whom you wish to remove, got there because he/she had such credentials, you need to find someone else with similar achievements... which is what happens in all organized hobbies.
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MALTESE ARTISTS
In a local paper, a really interesting series of articles written by Joe Agius about “modern” Maltese artists has maintained an appearance. The pieces are well written, in summary style, and taken together, provide an effective panorama of how Maltese art developed during the last hundred years. The series has already featured artists like Cremona, Esprit Barthet, Mangion and others in ways that highlighted their achievements without relying on academic descriptions that can only be understood by those familiar with the techniques of the visual arts.
Also the choice of photos of works representing the different artists is being made thoughtfully.
Such an effort in the “popular” presentation of Maltese art deserves not to remain within the pages of a newspaper. It could be brought together inside a book where the articles appear in more than one language, surely Maltese and English, but why not also other languages?