On 25th of July 2025, GMD and its intercultural companions took part in an event held by the council of Gzira in the main city square. The intercultural Orrajt Migrantour workshop “Out stories, out streets. New narratives of belonging” was organized in the framework of the initiative “Mighn Pjazza tal Pjazza – From Square to Square”, aiming to transform public squares into vibrant hubs of cultural and artistic activity. On this occasion, Gzira square was animated with standing panels displaying images and stories of the people of Malta. It also included a space dedicated to the display of creative handmade works, crafted by a Maltese artist.
At the beginning of the cultural event, Orrajt Migrantour intercultural companions gathered with an eclectic and interested public to discuss topics like “home”, “interpersonal and intercultural relationships” and “friendships”, and about “the Mediterranean” as a crossroads and a place of connection. In particular, the public was asked reflective questions such as “What is home for you?” “What is home for people who have emigrated?” “What is home for the people in Malta?” Or “Who are you friends?” “Who is part of your support network when you ‘far from home’?” Finally, we asked: “what does the word Mediterranean inspire in you?”.
These themes were then explored through a series of workshops and activities that brought together people from different walks of life. For example, when discussing the Mediterranean, one of the intercultural companions invited the audience to listen to a poem celebrating it and then to draw what the Mediterranean evoked for them. When the theme was friendship, other companions shared typical foods from their home countries as a gesture of sharing and affection, something they do with their old and new friends and they offered them to the workshop’s participants.
The initiative, inspired to the idea of connections between locals and non-locals, continued with performances of singing and dancing by artists who were delighted to share their art with a wider audience. Initiatives, like this one, once again show that there is a lot of beauty we, locals or newcomers, can share with others, while exchanging creative and inspiring ideas.
Federica Pettinato, Orrajt Migrantour Malta intercultural companion