After some experiments in 1999 with the installation of a Maltese School of Language in Paris and in Zürich, the institute has focused on the cultural representation of some of the most promising talents of Malta.
Without the assistance of the Maltese Embassy in Paris and the personal efforts of The Honourable Prof. Salvino Busuttil, ambassador of the Republic of Malta in France, the institute would have been as a ship without a destination, lying in port waiting for cargo, crew and a port to call on.
BOOK BY MARIA CALLEJA
At the 40th anniversary of the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM). a book on the trade of Maltese oranges between Malta and France in the 18th century – an initiative of the Fondation de Malte and the Editions Bouchene – was presented. by the centre’s president, Salvino Busuttil. The publication, written by Alain Blondy and introduced by Prof. Busuttil, is based on documents in the archives of the Wignacourt Museum in Rabat.
PRIX LINUS CAR
Shortly afterwards the promotion of Malta at the Concourse Hippique with the Prix Linus Car showed that Malta is not only a country in which poets, authors, sculptors and musicians find their inspiration, but also an environment for the sportily engaged and here the close cooperation of the governors of the Institute was founded and tested.
The Governors decided that the Institute without a proper meeting centre outside of Malta would need to rent facilities for their future activities. As the occasion came and the opportunity arisen, a cultural meeting centre was set up in Paris, financed by the Institute and available on invitation of the Governors for all who might have a positive contribution to the promotion of the Maltese Culture outside of Malta. Paris was chosen for its central location in Europe, France for the great cultural heritage and its relations with Maltese History. The Meeting centre is open for all activities of the Institute, especially within the European Union.
CONCERT AT THE MALTESE EMBASSY IN PARIS
In autumn the activities of the Institute closed its first full year of operation with a concert at the Maltese Embassy of the gifted and most amiable pianist Stephan Cassar.
