Minister for Education Justyne Caruana, on behalf of the National Book Council, presented a donation of books to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health Chris Fearne which will be distributed to COVID-19 healthcare frontliners in Malta and Gozo. 

The occasion also marked yesterday’s International Mother Language Day with a donation of over €80,000 worth of books written in the Maltese language, as part of the National Book Council’s larger donation of a total of 13,000 books of National Book Prize-winning titles published in Malta in the past five years. 

Minister Caruana said that this gesture is in appreciation to the valuable work of carers, nurses, doctors, and all hospital staff who serve on the frontline to ensure the safety and quality of care of their patients. Over the past year, many have had to make a tremendous sacrifice to deliver national healthcare services during a global pandemic, also reminding us that we all depend upon their dedication at some point in our lives. 

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health Chris Fearne thanked Minister Caruana and the National Book Council for this initiative and said that this donation will be appreciated by all frontliners. 

The books being gifted include acclaimed National Book Prize-winning novels, short-story and poetry collections, literary translations, and works of nonfiction in the Maltese language, published by local publishers in the past five years. It is in the Council’s hope that with these worthy titles we can share the well-deserved joy of reading.