Aims
and Structure
Inizjamed (Mediterranean Cultural Initiative) is a voluntary organization founded in 1998 and based in Malta that promotes socially and politically committed culture and actively promotes a greater awareness of the Mediterranean and its cultural and environmental realities.
The internal
organization of Inizjamed
is not based on the traditional concept of a hierarchical organization
with a central committee and a pool of dormant members. Inizjamed's
initiatives are coordinated by an organizing team of five persons who have
different but complementary cultural and academic backgrounds. Each
project has its own coordinator who then involves people from various
areas of culture who share, by and large, Inizjamed's
vision.
Inizjamed actively promotes the participation of young women, because our patriarchal culture has often directly or indirectly discriminated against the “public” role of women. At least two of the members of the central coordinating team must be women; coordinators of individual projects are often, but not necessarily, women. At present, three of Inizjamed larger projects are being coordinated by highly competent young women and this has encouraged more young women to take a more active public role in the overall organization of Inizjamed and its projects.
Main
Projects
Inizjamed
is a founding member of the International Association that organizes the
Biennial Exhibition for Young European and Mediterranean Artists and has
taken part in the IX edition of this Biennial Exhibition held in Rome in
June, 1999.
In July, 2001, eight artists from Malta, including actors, a
writer and a sculptor/installation artist, will represent Inizjamed at the X edition of the Biennial
for Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean to be held in
Sarajevo. In May 2001, Adrian Mifsud, a young architect who is a member of
Inizjamed's coordinating team, took
part in an architecture workshop in Sarajevo to prepare for the biennial
in July. Arci (Milano) were insturmental in making his participation
possible.
In April, 2000, a young Maltese writer was chosen by the curator of the section on literature to represent Inizjamed and Malta at the Big Torino 2000 Biennial Exhibition of Creative Young Artists. Inizjamed will also be taking part in the second edition of this biennial scheduled for 2002 with the theme, "A Big Social Game".
Inizjamed has organized evenings of socially and politically committed literature and music at the University of Malta in 1999 and 2000 and on the occasion of National Youth Day, 2000 in Freedom Square, Valletta.
Inizjamed has also been nominated twice for a prize awarded by the Maltese Government to youth organizations for their contribution to society. In April 2001 Inizjamed won second place in this prize for its voluntary work during the year 2000.
In August 2000, Inizjamed presented a highly successful evening of Mediterranean music, literature and theatre called "Kitbiet mill-Mediterran" (Writings from the Mediterranean) at the University of Malta, with the participation of young artists from Malta, Reggio Calabria and Sardinia.
The organizers of the Mediterranean cultural festival of Bisceglie in southern Italy have invited two writers associated with Inizjamed, Maria Grech Ganado and Adrian Grima, to take part in their festival in August 2001.
One way in which Inizjamed
is actively promoting its Mediterranean dimension is by forging links not
only with other Maltese NGOs, like the Third World Group, Kopin
(Koperazzjoni Internazzjonali) and Koperattiva Kummerc Gust (Fair Trade
Cooperative), but also with socially and
politically committed NGOs abroad, especially in the Mediterranean.
Inizjamed has
worked closely with the Third World Group and Koperattiva Kummerc Gust,
most notably on the African Week held mainly at the University of
Malta in 1999, the biggest public event ever organized by the Third World
Group in its 27 years of existence.
In 1999, Inizjamed brought together a group of young writers working on socially and politically committed literature. In March 2000, this group within Inizjamed put together an artistic activity, called Fabbrikazzjoni which focused on the work experience of young factory workers in Malta, involving them both in the design of the event and in the production itself. Inizjamed expanded the Fabbrikazzjoni project by working together with a group of mainly female factory workers to physically recreate the atmosphere we normally associate with factories and to present an artistic and intellectual space to discuss the experience of young factory workers during the national Festazghazagh (Youth Fest) held in August, 2000.
Ongoing projects include a two-year multidisciplinary exploration of the figure of the seagull in the poetry of Maltese poet Marjanu Vella; a series of literature workshop and a performance with leading Scottish poet Kevin MacNeil to be held at the University of Malta and other venues in July, 2001; a course on writing literature for children; a series of literature workshops for women writers, and a number of other projects.
The Coordinating Team of Inizjamed
The
present coordinating team of Inizjamed
which
changes every two years is made up of:
Adrian
Grima
BA (Gen.),
BA (Hons.), MA (Maltese Literature, Mediterranean Studies) - (Coordinator)
Anna
Zammit BA
(Hons.), MA (Sociology)
Marcelle
Teuma BA
(Hons.) (Performing Arts)
Vince Caruana Dipl. Polit. Stud., B.Ed. (Hons.), M.Sc.. (Environmental Education, Civil Society, Development Cooperation)
Adrian
Mifsud (BE & A) (Design and Visual Arts)
Official
Recognition
In April, 2001, Inizjamed
was awarded a special
prize by the Government of Malta
in recognition of its contribution to society and youth during the year
2000. This award was broadcast on Maltese national television during the
most popular (discussion) programme being broadcast in Malta at present.
This
was an important achievement for an organization like Inizjamed
that is
completely independent of the major institutions in Malta, namely the
major political parties, the Church and the government.
Inizjamed
has received funding
both from the government of Malta and from international organizations
like the British Council and Italian NGOs.
Inizjamed
is officially
registered with the VAT Department in Malta and our number is 1604 –
9021.
Logo by Adrian Mifsud
On this Page
Aims and Structure
Main Projects
The Coordinating Team of Inizjamed
Official Recognition
Related Pages