The Valletta 2018 Foundation is supporting SOS Malta, an organisation which, together with the Valletta Local Council, launched the Intercultural City Strategy for Valletta 2015-2018. This is part of the Valletta Living Together (VLT), a project that encourages the inclusion of migrants in Maltese society and which is also co-financed by the European Fund for Integration of Third Country Nationals.

Several stakeholders and participants met for a roundtable discussion at the Volunteer Centre in Valletta to launch this new Strategy on Saturday 6^th June. SOS Malta Project Manager Lorna Muscat opened discussions which included a number of distinguished speakers, inlcuding Member of the Council of Europe Christina Beglai, who introduced the intercultural cities programme. In her introduction, Belgai made reference to a variety of successful intercultural cities such as Limerick, Oslo and Patras. Mayor of Valletta Professor Alexiei Dingli also spoke at the event, emphasising that, in the case of Valletta, this intercultural city strategy could help to promote cultural diversity and foster better inclusion of migrants in Maltese society.

An Intercultural Music and Arts Festival was also held at Valletta’s Great Siege Square. The event incorporated traditional Maltese culture as well as foreign culture by including typical Maltese carnival decorations and also South-American art. Music bands performed throughout the day.