Guarantee Committee for Malta's heritage launched

The Committee of Guarantee for Malta's cultural heritage - the third cultural structure set up last week - was launched by Education Minister Louis Galea yesterday.

Its function is to facilitate synergy between the various agencies responsible for the protection and administration of the cultural heritage, Dr Galea said, adding that lack of co-ordination was one of the major deficiencies.

The idea was to involve voluntary organisations, the commercial sector and the Church, and the commission would mediate between differing opinions and resolve them.

The involvement of the private sector was important also since public finances would never be enough to cater for the richness of Malta's cultural patrimony.

Dr Galea said the committee would also be surveying the drafting of the National Strategy for Cultural Heritage, as well as administering the Cultural Patrimony Fund that has yet to be set up and would cater for particular projects.

The committee would not be involved in the day-to-day running of the country's patrimony, Dr Galea said, but its role would be to "guard, co-ordinate, push and encourage" the administration of the cultural heritage.

Dr Galea said a gradual process to spread a new culture and systems for the Maltese to appreciate and present their heritage would now start.

Earlier on in the week, the government launched the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage and the Heritage Malta agency, in accordance with the new Cultural Heritage Act.

The Committee of Guarantee is being headed by President Emeritus Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, who said that Malta's cultural heritage was also humanity's and it was, therefore, the country's duty to protect it for the whole world.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici also spoke of the economic value of Malta's cultural wealth and the importance of its preservation to maintain high-level, cultural tourism.

While an awareness of the need for conservation has grown, there was, sometimes, confusion on how to tackle it, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said, encouraging more dialogue between civil society and state and ecclesiastical authorities.

The committee is composed of representatives of the Tourism, Environment and Gozo Ministries, those heading the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti, the Restoration Centre, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority; three representatives of voluntary organisations, and other sectors related to cultural and historical heritage; as well as a member of the Commission for Catholic Heritage, who is to be appointed in the near future.

Its members - Joseph Attard Tabone, Andrew Calleja, Joseph Cannataci, Godwin Cassar, Marquis Nicholas de Piro, Rosette Fenech, Alex Grech, Anthony Pace, Martin Scicluna and Joseph F.X. Zahra - were renowned for their constant commitment and proven skills in the protection, preservation and presentation of the country's heritage, Dr Galea said.