Culture starts from home
“The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.” – Confucius
Rachel Borg is an independent columnist based in the tourism industry ne can also say that our cities, towns and villages are a reflection of our home. As the opening of Valletta 2018 - European Capital of Culture year, approaches, it is quite shocking to walk from Floriana to Valletta and within the city. The state of work around is primeval and you would think that our island is only just now emerging from a natural disaster.
I cannot imagine what would entice people to come to Valletta for this year of Culture when we are so far from anything resembling that level of evolution.
Since Malta joined the European Union in 2004, the improvements that had been made to our cultural and natural heritage were significant, so much so, that we had the confidence and talent to look forward to the honour of hosting the European Capital of Culture in Valletta in 2018.
Unfortunately, this pride and honour were flushed down the toilet and left to pique, nepotism, amateurism and cronyism, and therefore, to fail. We do not wish, at all, to see it fail and there is nothing personal but whatever the programme holds in the way of cultural events is secondary at this point. The reason being that the destination itself is in a cultural deficit.
On the entrance to Valletta there is the demolition zone which is the City gate, Triton Fountain, the Mall and the surroundings with the ditch. Through the streets, are metal barriers from one end to the other in front of the shops, along with covered passages and various scaffolds. Maybe these were there due to the visit of Prince Charles, but here in Malta, its one event or dignitary after another so they are almost a permanent fixture. Can we also try to find a better style of barriers? Perhaps something like they have in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican? And once the need for them has passed, shouldn’t they be immediately removed?
Onwards to the Upper Barrakka Gardens and here you have the oil-rig pointed out by the Chairperson of the Valletta 2018 Foundation, Jason Micallef, jarring against the whole panorama on the opposite side of the Grand Harbour.
What with horse shelters smelling foul, where these are not actually occupied by cars, rubbish in general and puddles and dripping pipes, it’s enough to make you turn on your heels and try to make your way out against a flow of tourists with their umbrellas and through the maze of metal barriers.
As far as tourists as concerned, we continue to struggle with access to places of interest, such as the Grandmaster’s Palace, receiving emails at short notice to say that the place is closed to visitors and this after months of it having been off the museum trail due to the Presidency of the EU. It has been thought that once Parliament moved to the new building, the Grandmaster’s Palace would become open to visitors on a regular basis. That is not the case now.
The construction of the new Marina in Pieta’ is also a poor introduction to the city. There are parts of the pavement and passages which are unfit for people to walk on, as are most of our pavements nowadays, with the ugly, intruding balconies wherever you look, pushing cars into one messed up lane, resembling the one last vein in your arm with a tourniquet.
The idea of Valletta 2018 is to make open. The opposite is happening as we are squeezed further and further away from a search for expression and living space.
As for the Human Resources, we follow the saga of the exartistic director and principal conductor of the Malta Philarmonic Orchestra, Maestro Brian Schembri, as he describes the method and strategy used to remove him or cause him to resign from his position. At a time when we approach an intensive period for the national orchestra, here they are, mired in controversy. Personal issues are allowed to compromise national interests. Is that what you expect from the management of the national orchestra? Short of getting out the police force, the attitude employed is not what we need at this crucial time and indicative of the fact that, in truth, the scope and meaning of Valletta 2018 is missed by those who should be promoting and delivering it.
When it comes then to our daily consumption of Television over at TVM, John Bundy, the CEO is accused by the Board of bad conduct regarding purchases and management and they are protesting his presence. Then there is also the case of the Broadcasting Authority Chairman, Martin Micallef, who was appointed without approval from the Opposition. In other countries, where they take these positions of national importance seriously, there would be full coverage of the abysmal situation.
On the contrary, here at home, we take these aspects of our culture as something dispensable. The positions are viewed only as political currency and suitability of the candidate is optional. If the person comes with some qualifications, good. If not, no problem.
We start from a young age here to over-estimate ourselves and to inflate our capabilities. The other day, on the start of the school year, the children of the San Gwann primary school were greeted by a fairy-tale King and a red carpet. We used to have that red carpet when we do our First Holy Communion, as appropriate on such a memorable occasion. In this instance, on the one hand, it gives a message of overimportance and displaces authority from the teachers to the children. On the other, it encourages pride without accomplishment and reality will come harder for these children. A nice welcome could have been organised in assembly (do they still have assembly?) and a prayer and off they go.
The child-centric family is quite dominant amongst the population. This is leading to an exaggerated sense of importance and expectation. Naturally we care for the upbringing and education of our children but their role in society and the culture they absorb at a young age is crucial to their development as mature adults.
Overall, we are losing our cultural identity and falling for silly gimmicks and imported commercial events like Halloween. If anyone says that our Festa is still strong and evident of local culture, I would say that this is no more than an elaborate competition of manifestation, as displayed by bigger and more complicated fireworks from one village to another.
The main driver in our culture, whether it is in sports or in the arts and in our occupations and careers is competition. We always want to be the best and be better than others, at any cost. No wonder that Joseph Muscat told us we will be the Best in Europe. That is what people grasp. The competition. Now we have Adrian Delia telling us that his primary objective as leader of the Nationalist Party is to win the next election. It follows that Maltese people hate losing, unless they know they did their best and can be satisfied with their performance as better than before. In that case they take satisfaction from the adulation and support of spectators and fans. The Eurovision song contest is a case in point.
We also need to think about how our culture at home impacts our outlook, at work, at school and in society.
“Culture trumps strategy.” Unknown
Therefore, winning and how to win are of little importance without culture. We simply remain in a rut and this is leading to a deficit, sooner than we realise.
The choices we make in several areas impact our life and the direction it takes. We need to stop being in denial about our achievements and change our attitude completely from one of expectation to one of appreciation. Then our world will change drastically.