Samantha Pace Gasan appointed Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities
Samantha Pace Gasan replaces Oliver Scicluna as Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities
20 January 2021, 3:25pm
by Nicole Meilak
Samantha Pace Gasan has been appointed Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities following consultation between Prime Minister Robert Abela and Inclusion Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli.
She is the second person to hold the role after her predecessor Oliver Scicluna was co-opted into parliament earlier this week.
Pace Gasan was a member of the National Youth Council and Malta Girl Guides. As a member of the youth council she worked on and presented a sexual health report, which recommended that the legal age of marriage be raised from 16 to 18. As a member of the Malta Girl Guides, she worked in several committees, including diversity and promotion of minority rights.
Winner of the the Literary Contest of Novels for Youth announced
Author Marlon Chircop was announced the winner of the 2020 edition of the Literary Contest of Novels for Youth
13 January 2021, 9:08am
by Laura Calleja
Mitt Elf Isem Ieħor, with a local publisher of his choice.
The 2020 edition of the Literary Contest of Novels for Youth rewards Maltese novels written for young adolescent readers between 13 and 15 years. The contest is a joint collaboration between Aġenzija Żgħażagħ and the National Book Council.
The ceremony was presided by Minister for Inclusion and Social Wellbeing Julia Farrugia Portelli and Parliamentary Secretary for Youth Clifton Grima and held at the Aġenzija Żgħażagħ Youth Village in Santa Venera.
Prime Minister Robert Abela will soon mark his first year in office. I was going to write ‘celebrate’, but that is too much, even for the die-hard dyed-in-the-wool over their eyes laburisti, for they know that not everything’s alright in Bobbyland.
But in his mind, Abela is an intrepid sailor with a steady hand on the tiller as he navigates the waves, second or otherwise. On December 20, Abela bragged to his captive audience in Xewkija that the government “change” in January was a “real one”. This astonishing braggadocio sits awkwardly with his narrative of “continuity” with the Muscat administration he pledged during his leadership campaign.