And you think these people should be solving the nation's ills?
Here’s Labour’s latest contribution to Direzzjoni Success.
The Times, 4 February
MP calls for national portrait gallery
Labour MP George Vella has urged the authorities to set up a national portrait gallery to honour Maltese who give distinguished service to their country. Dr Vella, who was speaking in Parliament, expressed concern that in a recent newspaper exercise (by The Times) University students showed a serious lack of awareness about what was happening around them and could not identify prominent people in public life.
That being the state of affairs, one had to wonder about the collective memory of the nation with regard to Maltese who had passed away after giving distinguished service to their country. Dr Vella said the country, therefore, needed to set up a facility, such as a national portrait gallery, which would not only honour such people, but also keep them alive in the people’s minds.
Such a gallery would include not only political leaders but others from all works of life, whether they were architects, commedians, or scholars, he said.
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‘Comedians’?
Would call the whole act ‘Commedia dell’ arte’.
I think that university students will for sure not forget Dr. Alfred Sant for having removed their stipends .. not to mention his recent triumphant visit
.. so we will have one less for the gallery and save some money.
Dear Amanda,
What Dr Vella was trying to explain is that students’ education should not be just textbook education but also basic general knowledge about Maltese history, which I must say is not given the right importance it needs. Be a bit objective……..
Ara veru m’ghandux x’jaghmel George Vella.
“commedians”
[Daphne – Faithfully reproduced….]
I wonder would your portrait be up there Daphne.
Maybe he’s yet to discover google search, which is the place where university students would go if they ever felt inclined to find out what some prominent Maltese person looked like.
What a fruitcake!
The people who are worth remembering will always be remembered.
George Vella himself may be remembered for reasons other than those he would wish for, as would Alfred Sant, Mintoff, KMB, Lorry Sant …
Anna, so following the same line of thought we should start looking at pictures on Google rather than visit a country to see things in first person?
I think a Flickr gallery would be sufficient and would make the portraits available for all the world whilst incurring no cost whatsoever. Hah!
Such a gallery would become another source of bitter controversy about who gets to be represented and who is left out.
I think that there is a restaurant in Valletta not far from parliament whose walls are adorned with “portraits” of MPs. Why therefore, do we need to see their mugs in oil on canvas as well!
Why not a wax museum? Mintoff with his walking stick, Sant without his wig…..
These people never change
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fzOVMwHQQk
Ivan, there is no comparison whatsoever between visiting another country and looking at portraits of Maltese prominent people.
Mr Vella should take same time and write a page on ‘Wikipedia’, that is if he really loves our students. I, for one, would use this site during research.