Visits to EU Funded Sites for students

Organised by SEM and Europe Direct Valletta

On June 2 and 9, SEM and Europe Direct Valletta organised two visits for primary school students to EU co-funded sites.

This visits were intended to raise awareness among students on how EU funds are invested in several areas and projects. Students from the Gozo College Sir Arturo Mercieca Primary School Victoria - The Happy School, visited the Ċittadella in Victoria, the Ġgantija Archaeological Park complex in Xagħra and the town of San Lawrenz, and experienced first-hand the ways in which EU funds transformed the sites.

The visits started at the Ċittadella with an introduction on SEM and EU funds. An officer from the Cultural Heritage Directorate within the Ministry for Gozo, then explained in detail how the site was rehabilitated through a €12 million project partially financed with EU funds under the European Regional Development Fund 2007-2013. Works also included the creation of a Visitors’ Centre, restoration of principal public buildings, rehabilitation of public spaces and related infrastructural works within the Cittadella precincts.

At the Ġgantija Archaeological Park, students had the opportunity to visit the Interpretation Centre that provides visitors with the opportunity to explore various aspects related to life in the Neolithic Period. The centre is also home to a selection of the most significant artefacts discovered at various prehistoric sites in Gozo. The students then walked all the way to the temples, consisting of two structures built between c.3600 and c.3200 BC. The embellishment and conservation project of this UNESCO World Heritage benefitted from EU funds under the European Regional Development Fund 2007-2013.

Leaving Ġgantija, heading to the town of San Lawrenz, students were given a brief overview of how EU funds were invested to build the Ta' Pinu Road and other major roads in a project which exceeded the €4 million, partially financed with EU funds under the European Regional Development Fund 2007-2013. Reaching San Lawrenz, the students were greeted by the mayor himself who explained how the complete restoration of the façade of the Parish Church together with the upgrading of the main square benefitted from EU funding, being partly financed by the European Regional Development Fund 2007-2013. The total cost of the project was estimated to reach around €440,000.

Students were invited to recount their experience by answering some questions related to how EU funds were invested in the sites they visited, how the projects changed the sites and in what ways does Malta benefit from EU funds.