Tista’ taqra bil-
Malti.
The European Union provides funding for a broad range of projects. EU funding is not about giving and taking, but has always been about pooling resources, standing together against common challenges and creating an EU added value in helping Europeans live better lives.
With this concept in mind, in an effort to make the benefits of EU funds more widely known, SEM is organising a number of guided visits to projects and sites which benefitted from EU funding.
Such visits support the promotion of SEM as the gateway to EU funds in Malta and highlight success stories through which EU funding serves as a fundamental tool to improve citizens’ lives.
In this regard, for the second consecutive year, SEM is organising visits to EU funded sites and projects to students. In the first week of May, students from St Nicholas College Dingli Secondary and St Clare College Pembroke Secondary, visited the Salina Nature Reserve and BirdPark Malta, passing through a part of Triq il-Kosta which is part of the TEN-T (Trans-European Transport Networks) network of roads, experiencing first-hand the ways in which EU funds transformed the sites.
The Salina Nature Park – home to a number of species of birds alighting in the salt pans to rest during migration – was rehabilitated through a €7 million project partially financed with EU funds under the Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 2007-2013.
A private initiative, Birdpark Malta blends rural environment and education, as visitors can learn about the 200 species of birds and animals in the park. EU funds made it possible to upgrade the park to enhance the local tourism product through EU funds under the Rural Development Programme for Malta 2007-2013. It also enabled the installation of energy efficient systems through the European Regional Development Fund Energy Grant Scheme under the Cohesion Policy 2007-2013.
EU funds were also invested to build the Salina Coast Road and other major roads through which the students travelled. Through EU funds, Malta was able to improve sections of its road network for the benefit of the island’s people and economy. This project is part of a wider set of measures which form part of the EU funded TEN-T road network – a huge EU investment in transport infrastructure across the continent.
This is what participating students had to say about their experience: “From this wonderful experience, I personally feel more exposed and more educated about this topic. I also feel very grateful to be Maltese and for the EU to provide our country with these beautiful organisations, and mostly the beautiful roads.
EU funds managed to help the sites in multiple ways. Without these funds, not a lot of progress could be made and it would be much harder to transform them to how they are today.”
On the same lines, SEM is also organising cycling tours to sites that have been co-financed by the EU. Such organised bike tours for adults to different sites and projects around Malta and Gozo, showcase the various ways in which the EU seeks to invest in and support its citizens.
During the first of these tours, on April 30, participants visited the Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra Archaeological Park and Wied Fulija. Upcoming tours include the Salina Nature Reserve and the BirdPark in Malta, and the Ġgantija Archaeological Park and the Ċittadella in Gozo.
EU funds supported the development of visitor centres and protective shelters of two temple sites being visited – Mnajdra and Ħaġar Qim and Ġgantija. Through such investments, these heritage sites are better equipped to welcome visitors while protecting the sites from the elements, thus limiting damage to the temples.
Another site that will be visited is the Ċittadella in Gozo, which site was rehabilitated and restored with an investment of more than €14 million. This restoration project has given a new lease of life to this Gozitan Heritage site and added to the island’s cultural identity, while boosting tourism and significantly enhanced the overall experience for visitors. Notably, this is the first EU funded project for Malta which has won the REGIOSTARS Award.
More information on EU funded projects may be accessed on the fondi.eu website here.
Should you be interested in joining the upcoming bike tours, you may visit the events section in our website and register to participate in one of the upcoming tours being organised on Sunday, May 21 and on Sunday, June 4. For more information, kindly send an email to [email protected] or call on 2779 7300.
content supplied by Servizzi Ewropej f’Malta (SEM)
