Viewing Our Origins...
In the European Community there was a time when moving around Europe was difficult, and this problem arose in diverse matters such as in the passport control system and in the overall bureaucratic travelling and working opportunities. They include freedom to travel, work and do business abroad, choose from more goods and services and enjoy full consumer rights when shopping
outside one’s own country. With the accession of the ten new European Member States in May of 2004, the European Community faced the most significant enlargement in its history, and by 2007 the total population of the Union will be now approaching 500 million. This fact, in itself, represents an immense richness of cultural, social and linguistic diversity. Moreover, our societies are undergoing major demographic changes, resulting in an ageing and shrinking working-age population and sustained immigration flows. In such a context, the shared values or principles that hold our societies together, such as freedom, tolerance, and solidarity, become more important than ever. Malta as an active Member State has a very important role in this process. In fact, many people still feel the need to get acquainted with all the European values and principles existing in the continent. Therefore, our main task as a cultural operator within the Maltese Islands is basically to establish a strong linkage between our local cultural foundations on the one hand, which basically have shaped our identity and have paved the way for our new European statehood and on the other our present position as active participants among many other European cultural diversities and ideologies. Our Services as a cultural organisation on the Maltese Islands...
We are basically going to offer a threefold service which will include educational, cultural and religious packages. These offers will be formulated and submitted periodically on this website and they will be mainly structured on the basis of our magnificent cultural and religious attractions which every year are constantly attracting many foreign tourists to come to Malta for diverse reasons, most of which centre around one particular end, and that is to share their cultural experiences together with their friends or with other nationals from other countries. Although we have decided to focus on these three main spheres of activity, namely culture, education and religion we have endeavoured to set up a type of mechanism which will specifically cater for all our visitors in an efficient and serious manner. In fact, we have equipped three main units/departments having their own competences and particular line of management, and these are a) the Mediterranean Institute for the Teaching of English, which will be mainly responsible for all those foreign students and/or people who would like to come to learn, improve or enhance their English Language; b) the Inspirational Culture Visits Unit, which will be responsible for the organisation of cultural and holiday services around the Maltese Islands; and c) the Religious Retreat Visits Unit, which will cater for all those tourists who would like to learn, respect and visit all our local religious foundations which up till to date kept our society strong in Christian faith and most of all in the preservation and never ending respect for all our artistic and religious gems. Please refer to the appropriate unit, so that you will be guided accordingly on your preferred visit.
