Anthony Lateo, 43, a salesman of Ghajnsielem, will be sitting for the Ghajnsielem council elections for the PN. Mr Lateo said he has a lifelong affection for Ghajnsielem and a keen interest in the affairs and developments which have affected village life since he has been old enough to follow them.

In this regard, he has been helped by the members of his family, who have traditionally been at the forefront of village affairs for as long as he could remember. He particularly remembers his late father's interest in anything connected with the village and he sees himself as following in his footsteps.

Joanna Saliba, 19, of Xewkija, is contesting the Xewkija council elections for the MLP. Having been a member of religious, social and cultural organisations from a young age, she has a great urge to conduct voluntary work.

Apart from being a student at Junior Lyceum and later in the post secondary schools in Victoria, she began to study music at the age of 12 and was a member of the Precursor Band Club, a presenter on the band's community radio and a member of the club's central committee for two consecutive years.

Currently, she is a music, art and culture official of the Xewkija Youth Forum and a member of the Gozo Labour Youth Forum. "I feel the time has come to broaden my ideas and use my energy for a better Xewkija by giving my contribution in the local council," she said.

Teddy Mizzi, aged 46, who is a senior technical officer with the Manufacturing and Services Department of the Ministry for Gozo, is a PN candidate for the Xewkija local council elections. He is married to Carmen, and father of Noel.

Mr Mizzi told The Sunday Times, that in Xewkija, although the Nationalist councillors are in a minority, as has been the case in the past legislatures, they intend to work in favour of and support all those issues which benefit the people of the village. This includes the rehabilitation project of Mgarr ix-Xini Valley, which is being carried out in conjunction with the Sannat council, the resurfacing of roads and upkeep of the cleanliness of the village.

Mr Mizzi has been involved in the activities of the Xewkija council for the past six years. He was also involved in the twinning agreement of Xewkija and Castelvenere, he joined both groups which visited Castelvenere and took part in the reciprocal visits by the Italians in Gozo.

He also collaborated in the founding of the Xewkija Youth Forum which aims to co-ordinate and help organisations and voluntary groups in Xewkija to explore the benefits and experiences they can participate in, particularly through specialised programmes of the European Union.

Mr Mizzi is also involved in the Xagh#ra Feast Decorations Group and is constantly busy giving a helping hand to all the villages voluntary groups in the organisation of their cultural activities.

Renance Aquilina, a teacher at the Ninu Cremona School Boys Junior Lyceum and Secondary School, Victoria is a PN contestant for the Gh#asri council elections.

Born on June 3, 1975, Ms Aquilina received her primary education at the Gharghur government primary school and her family moved to Gozo at the age of 12. Ms Aquilina attended the Secondary School at the Junior Lyceum Aguis De Soldanis School Victoria. Later she did her post secondary education at the Michelangelo Refalo School, Victoria, and read Sociology and History and studied Anthropology at University of Malta where she obtained a degree in Bachelor of Arts. She is currently completing the last year of a Diploma in Library and Information Technology at the University of Malta.

Ms Aquilina is very enthusiastic about her candidacy and wishes for more cultural activities to be organised in her village. As a teacher, she plans to set up educational programmes for residents. After the success of the summer school held in the last years by the local council in Ghasri, she looks forward to receive a good response both in the number of students as well as voluntary teachers to repeat this exercise. Once elected, she aims for the council to work on the summer schools and intends to organise various courses that will be of interest to all.

She intends to organise youth exchanges with other Mediterranean countries and believes that the local council should see that programmes of the European Union may be taken by youths of Ghasri. This will prove to be a golden opportunity for them to exchange ideas and cultural knowledge. Ms Aqulina will also use her library knowledge to see an increase in the number of books and the number of partons.