Parliamentary Secretary Jesmond Mugliett announces "Good News for Young People"

There was good news yesterday for young people with a flair for the performing arts. Opportunities are being created for those interested in a commitment in drama, music and singing.

When addressing a press conference yesterday, Parliamentary Secretary Jesmond Mugliett announced that the Department of Youth and Sport was constantly seeking to involve young people in various spheres of youth work, sport and the arts.

One of these initiatives is Malta's affiliation to the European Union of Music Competitions for Youth (EMCY) which is a European platform for organisers of national and international music competitions and competitive festivals for youth and embraces 21 member countries. Every year EMCY organises a European competition in one of these countries which is only open for prize winners of national competitions. Moreover, EMCY organises European concerts several times throughout the year for musicians from member countries. These concerts provide young musicians with the exciting possibility of performing abroad and comparing their talents with those of other young musicians without the unnerving experience of competition. EMCY also provides members with information regarding music camps for youth, national and international competitions and possibilities to study music abroad.

Parliamentary Secretary Jesmond Mugliett announced that the first national competition will be held early next year and the winners will subsequently participate in the European competition. He also announced that the local EMCY Committee will be chaired by Dr. Joseph Vella, one of Malta's leading personalities in the field of classical music.

Jesmond Mugliett announced yet another initiative involving the creative talents of young people, this time in drama. He said that four youth drama groups were being invited to participate in a pilot project and stage their own productions during the summer months in what could become a yearly event.

The performances will include forum theatre and performances based on real life situations by the St. Patrick's Salesians students. The School for Drama as well as drama groups from Cospicua and Mosta will also be involved and it is estimated that close to 100 experienced and budding young actors will benefit from this initiative.

Finally, the Parliamentary Secretary gave a detailed account of the third initiative - Song for youth, which is a new song festival aimed at encouraging young composers and singers to come forward, gain experience, and uncover untapped talents in this field.

The song festival will be held in conjunction with the Committee of the Festival Kanzunetta Maltija on Saturday 4^th September, at the Mediterranean Conference Centre. The winner will be among the guest singers in the Festival Kanzunetta Maltija the following week and the winning track will be included as a Bonus track on the Festival Kanzunetta Maltija CD. There are good possibilities that the winner of the Song for Youth festival will be involved to sing as a guest at a similar festival abroad.

The organising committee received no less than 43 entries which were cut down to 14 finalists by a special jury.

The coming months are indeed busy ones for young people with talent to spare!