Manoel Island activists to hold public workshops on what park could look like
Petition to return island to government hands garnered over 29,000 signtures
Activists behind the campaign to turn Manoel Island into a park have invited the public to take part in a series of workshops and share their ideas on what the island could look like.
Earlier this year, Manoel Island: Post Għalina, a grassroots campaign spearheaded by NGOs Moviment Graffitti and Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, resulted in more than 29,000 people signing a petition to return the island to the public domain and turn it into a park.
As a result of the campaign, MIDI, the consortium that was given a 99-year lease to develop the island in 2000, announced it was committed to finding a solution that could return it to government hands.
The workshops, planned for the coming weeks, seek to bring together communities to discuss how the island can meet their needs.
“These discussions will build on the collaborative work the campaign has carried out with numerous organisations to map the valuable architectural and historic structures, natural heritage, and intangible assets on Manoel Island, and the founding values which should shape the future of Manoel Island,” the NGOs said.
Those wishing to take part can choose which workshops they would like to attend by filling in the registration form.
The first workshop will be held on September 28 between 4 pm and 6 pm at Tal-Karmnu Band Club in Gżira and is geared towards informal sports groups, outdoor classes, hobby clubs, watersports enthusiasts, festa commissions, amateur fishers, and similar frequent users of the island.
Two further sessions - one in Maltese and another in English - will be held for people who live, or used to live, in Gżira or the adjacent neighbourhoods on Saturday, October 4 (in Maltese) at the Orpheum Theatre, Gżira, 4 pm to 6 pm, and on Sunday, October 5 (in English) at the Gżira Parish Hall between 4 pm and 6 pm.
Members of the wider public are invited to a workshop and walk on Manoel Island itself on Sunday, October 12 between 10 am and 1 pm.