Dr Andrew Azzopardi

198 Pages·2015·2.52 MB·English

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Dr Andrew Azzopardi
Society of St. Mary and King George V Band Club,
Mqabba, Malta 2015
© 2015 Society of St. Mary and King George V Band Club, Mqabba
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted in any form or by any means, known or yet to be invented,
for any purpose whatsover, without permission of the publishers,
which must be obtained beforehand.
ISBN: 978-99957-0-828-3
Printed in Malta by Best Print Co. Ltd, Qrendi.
Dedicated to the young people
who give of their time to others

table of CoNteNtS
Introductory Message
Carlo Sciberras
General Secretary
Society of St. Mary and
King George V Band Club - Mqabba vii
Project Profile
Social Inclusion and Youth Festa Organisations
Pauline Agius Farrugia and Chris Schembri Baldacchino
Project coordinators ix
Editorial
Dr Andrew Azzopardi
Senior Lecturer
Department of Youth and Community Studies xi
Foreword
Young People and the Feasts In Malta
Dr Jon P. Mitchell
Reader in Social Anthropology, University of Sussex xiii
Chapter 1
The Maltese Festa: A Crossover of Traditional and
Contemporary Cultural Realities
Dr George Cassar 1
Chapter 2
Young People Maneuvering
in the Religious Feast in Malta
Dr Andrew Azzopardi 19
Chapter 3
The Effect of the Maltese Festa on Well-Being:
An Economic Analysis, with a Focus
on Youth Participation
Dr Marie Briguglio and Ariana Sultana 51
Chapter 4
Festa Fandom:
Individualised Youth and Cultural Consumption
Dr Valerie Visanich 89
Chapter 5
Youths’ Expression of Cultural Identity
through the Visitor Encounter
Marie Avellino and Dr Chantal Avellino 109
Chapter 6
Saints, Revelers and Offenders:
Relationships in Festa Space-Time
Dr Saviour Formosa 129
Contributors 171
Index 177
INtroduCtory MeSSage
Carlo Sciberras
General Secretary
Society of St. Mary and King George V Band Club - Mqabba
The traditional Maltese feast is undoubtedly a wealth of historical,
cultural and spiritual patrimony, which is unique to the Maltese
Islands and enhances the Maltese identity abroad. One fundamental
element to bear in mind is that the elaborate components
which, when put together, make up these celebrations are the
fruit of hours upon hours of voluntary work carried out by feast
organizations. The majority of these voluntary organizations are
musical societies, within which a core group of young people are
mobilized to carry on the struggle to keep this historical, cultural
and spiritual patrimony alive for the generations to come.
The role of musical societies in Malta has evolved over time
to accomplish a wide range of activities. Their endeavors carry
on all the year round and do not only cater for those who are
interested in learning and promoting the music. Nowadays,
such Societies are being frequented and supported by a wide
range of talented people who through the various streams of the
feast organizations are able to offer opportunities for learning
and development in various sectors, namely artesian skills,
technological know-how, interpersonal and managerial skills.
The Society of St. Mary and King George V Band Club of
Mqabba wholeheartedly believes in the importance of youth
young people and the festa in malta
involvement in the traditional Maltese feasts and in the societies
who organize them, not only in the interest of preserving the
Maltese festa, but also in promoting youth involvement in the
communities. This active participation encourages social
inclusion and the creation of lasting relationships between
participants. We also believe that musical societies can become
more accessible to persons with disability, who can provide a
valid contribution to such societies in their activities.
In this regard, it is the aim of our Society so that through
the project Qalb Żagħżugħa, Festi Inklussivi, the involvement of
youth in feasts is analysed and a dialogue is established between
young people, policy makers and other stakeholders. This will
help us design the adequate strategies so that measures can be
implemented to react to the factors identified through this study
which may eradicate youth participation in feasts and severely
damage this patrimony.
I would like to take this opportunity to extend my appreciation
to the EUPA for their support through the “Youth in Action”
programme; and to the co-ordinators of the project, Pauline
Agius Farrugia, Chris Schembri Baldacchino and Dr Andrew
Azzopardi.
On behalf of the Society of St. Mary and King George V Band
Club, I would also like to thank all of young people, voluntary
organizations and musical societies who enthusiastically
participated in this project, especially the Malta Band Clubs
Association.
viii
ProjeCt ProfIle: SoCIal INCluSIoN aNd
youth festa orgaNISatIoNS
Pauline Agius Farrugia and Chris Schembri Baldacchino
Project Coordinators
In Malta there exists a strong link between the religious aspect
and the cultural events that take place all year round. All localities
in Malta celebrate at least one feast dedicated to the respective
Patron Saint of the locality. Due to our villages and towns being
in the main small the organisation of these feasts effect the
majority of the population, directly or indirectly.
The target group of this project was ‘young people’ who are
members of organizations involved in the feasts’ preparations.
The festa season in Malta attracts a large number of young
people, who either contribute towards the feast’s organisation or
else take the opportunity to enjoy themselves. However during
these last years ‘stigma’ has crept in this phenomenon and it
seems that certain social classes in Malta and Gozo look down on
feasts and the people involved in them. The project that spurned
this book attempted to identify different approaches on how to
reverse this thinking and study the participation of young people
in this social event. This EU funded project included a number of
activities, namely, a scientific survey research to understand how
young people relate to this phenomenon, a vox pop, workshops,
a national conference, the setting up of a website and Face Book
page and finally publishing this academic text.