This week we have published the so-called Strategy 2025, which sets out the vision, mission and goals of Arts Council Malta for the coming years, reinforced by its commitment toward cultural rights.

Strategy 2025 lays out three overarching themes—‘Care, Create, Flourish’—that serve as a bridge between the council’s strategic goals, principles and strategic areas.

This launch has brought to fruition one of the major instruments that will significantly contribute to the implementation of the current National Cultural Policy. Strategy 2025 was developed in partnership with several stakeholders coming from the cultural and creative sector, as well as members of the public who have the arts and culture at heart.

It is also in tune with the policy that envisions culture being embraced for the well-being of all. More involvement in the arts and culture sector leads to an increase in innovation, creative engagement, artistic legacy, active citizenship, and overall enhanced wellbeing. Therefore, this is where this strategy plays an integral part.

The current National Cultural Policy sets out a vision where culture is embraced for the well-being of all while abiding to commit to the principles of cultural rights through our actions. Such strategies in the artistic, cultural, and creative sectors must be developed and reviewed in a participatory way to reflect the vision of the stakeholders, respectively.

Hence why the 2025 Strategy published by Arts Council Malta has a crucial role in the understanding of the national cultural policy. The process that led to its launch has seen the involvement of those who, in one way or another, will be affected by it. It has also shown that the proposed actions take into consideration the cultural rights at their core, as is shown in the objectives and the guiding principles that shape it.

The Strategy states that the Council’s vision is for “the arts to be at the heart of Malta’s future”, as embedded within its six strategic goals, including:

• To invest and foster diverse artistic and cultural expression;

• To support and promote the conditions in which Malta's cultural and creative sectors can flourish;

• To promote and provide for community-led opportunities to participate in arts and culture;

• To strengthen Malta's international cultural relations to continue developing international artistic exchanges and collaborations;

• To foster collaborations with different sectors that contribute to the sustainable development of Malta;

• Facilitate cultural partnerships, including with public cultural organizations, to build and strengthen organizational capacities.

The importance of cultural rights, when taken in the context of sustainable development goals, should be emphasised and directly related to the status of the artist; an outcome which is more visible now than ever, more so with the challenges we have faced on a global level in the past couple of years.

Strategy 2025 reflects the national, European, and international discourses revolving around the trajectories of cultural policy in its widest sense. The cross-sectoral interconnections, which value the intrinsic qualities of artistic expression, are brought to the forefront through this strategy, as we aim to adopt an open, collaborative, participatory, and facilitative approach when implementing our measures in the coming years, as well as how we want to achieve this.

Through this strategy, we will see the Arts Council Malta continue to facilitate the sustainability of the sectors and act as the main body as an intermediary between the industries. This, whilst facilitating and promoting the sustainable development of individuals and creative organizations and fostering active and participatory citizenship in culture, among other functions. The successes of the Maltese council for the arts in recent years, since Act 15 of 2015, was established to testify that the council has the necessary skills and knowledge to continue to spur the cultural sectors and creativity, both in the public sector and in the private and voluntary sector delving in the economic, social, environmental and above all, artistic aspects for the years to come.

I am, therefore, eager to see this strategy carried out as one of the main pillars in implementing the National Cultural Policy, and we strive to continue to build on the substantial investments made over the last few years. We must have this compass that leads us towards strategic measures with long-term intentions based on evidence, experience and expertise. Including actions initiated by those who work directly in the sector and live the realities, the thoughts and emotions that form the artistic process and the cultural value and creative abilities that make this field so unique and indispensable for everyone.

The National Cultural Policy is primarily informed by Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which establishes that everyone has the right to participate freely in the community's cultural life, enjoy art, and have a share in scientific advancement and its benefits. It is also informed by Article 5 of the 2001 UNESCO Declaration on Cultural Diversity, which recognizes cultural rights as inseparable from human rights.

The Constitution of Malta engraves culture in the declaration of principles by calling on the State to promote the development of culture and scientific and technical research. The Policy describes the principles and policy actions for safeguarding this constitutional declaration.

The Strategy 2025 document is available in English and Maltese on https://www.artscouncilmalta.org/

I take the opportunity to thank all those who contributed their time and ideas to make this policy a reality.

Sweeney Todd

The first in-house musical by Teatru Manoel, Sweeney Todd, was an amazing piece of work.

The level which the performance reached was out of the ordinary, and the show was spectacular from start to finish.  I have heard criticism by people who said that Teatru Manoel should not do its own in-house musicals. Still, after seeing Sweeney Todd, I believe that in-house musicals by our national Theatre provide the setting of standards that are important to have in our country.

The story, of course, is macabre, and to be honest, I am not exactly a fan of the macabre genre.  However, time literally flew by as I watched scene after scene and listened to song after song.

I really believe that demon or no demon in that peculiar street of London, the artistic level attained in the Theatre was heavenly.

Incidentally, while I was eagerly watching the musical, I could not help but think to myself what a huge difference the new climate control system we implemented made at the Manoel Theatre, effectively extending the artistic programme by a considerable number of weeks.