Another year has flown by, and what a year has it been. After two years of missed opportunities due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which limited us in our mission and vision, we came back in full force. This year was packed to the brim with endless activities, opportunities, and initiatives that we worked endlessly on.
It is evident that this year’s main challenge was the continuous fight for better connectivity and better transport options for Gozitan students. We started off the year with a meeting with Gozitan MPs at Parliament together with other stakeholders where we voiced our opinion about the pros and cons of the current available ferry transport between the islands, as well as the public transport from the ferry services to the University of Malta and MCAST. This dialogue continued when the Fast Ferry schedule was decreased to only a few trips during wintertime. We had another meeting with the Minister for Transport Infrastructure and Capital Projects as well as Transport Malta and Malta Public Transport, where together with KSU we emphasised the importance of offering better services to the Gozitan students commuting between the islands as well as better communication with their stakeholders. More meetings were held during the year with the Minster for Gozo as well as other meetings specifically with Transport Malta. Even though we constantly voiced our concerns and provided suggestions, the change seems to be taking long, and the promise of having the X300 reinstated permanently has, as of yet, not been fulfilled.
Events were back in full swing and for this executive and as President, I made sure that a planning weekender took place early in summer 2022, where we planned all our activities beforehand and scheduled our calendar year. I also gave a priority to any suggestions and goals voiced out by the executive members. This set the ball rolling for Freshers’ Week at the University of Malta, MCAST and Sir Michelangelo Refalo 6th Form, all of which were a huge success. We offered freebies for students as well as GUG packs for the membership card holders, which this year amounted to 101 card holders. The card offered numerous discounts as well as an exclusive chance to have early bird tickets for the GUG Annual Christmas Ball, as well as having the opportunity to know news first hand by being in the GUG mailing list. Freshers’ Week also marks the opening of Wicked Wednesdays. This year we proudly held 4 Wicked Wednesdays, all with different themes, which were equally successful, filled with joyous memories that we will surely cherish throughout our lives.
After several years of thought and inspiration, GUG’s first ever set of podcast episodes named “Voice Out, Leħen Għawdxi fl-Universita’” was launched on our socials, as well as on Spotify. We would like to thank all those who accepted our invitation to participate and join us on these episodes, as well as Radju Lauretana and the Victoria Scouts group who offered their premises to record these podcasts. We proudly also organised an Public Talk, in collaboration with GħMU, named “Bejn Trampa u Kummidja”, where guest speaker Ruben Farrugia, who we would like to thank once again, gave an informative lecture about the Gozitan dialect, which is an integral part of our culture and heritage.
This year we also celebrated GUG’s 35th Anniversary. We launched the 35th anniversary logo during Freshers’ Week, which featured in all our freebies. Furthermore, we also hosted a celebration in November, where we invited all GUG alumni to come together to celebrate this organisation which they all formed part of in their university years. Music, drinks and food were flowing, and it was a night where we all came together to celebrate 35 years of endless work and vouching for the Gozitan student community.
Without a doubt, this year’s most awaited, most challenging, but most rewarding event was surely the comeback of The GUG Grand Annual Christmas Ball, and what a ball it was. We worked endlessly on it from last June to December, having endless meetings brainstorming on the best venue, best entertainment, budgeting and sending countless emails to sponsors for this event to be as successful as the ones before it. The sleepless nights of worry and the great teamwork were not in vain, since thankfully, this year’s ball was another huge success. Without the effort of each one of the executive members, we would not have made it so far. And for this I am eternally grateful.
Unfortunately, GUG’s Gozo Week had to be skipped for another year. Although we worked hard for this not to be lost as other events have during the pandemic, it was not from our end that this event had to be cancelled but due to location issues due on campus, unfortunately we had to abandon our plans for this event. Hopefully, next year it will be back again, stronger than before. Meanwhile, it is of great satisfaction that in the first week of April, two of our executive members flew to Cyprus to commence a relationship with other students in other countries to be part of a student exchange project. This is still in the works and our international officer will keep working on this project for the following months to come.
This year, GUG also voiced its concern about Gozo’s future and collaborated with several other organisations, who together under the name of ‘Għal Għawdex’ are vouching for a number of proposals for the preservation of Gozo as we know it. This Friday, we were part of the launch of the 8 point plan and we hope that it is the seed that is planted to protect the Gozo we all love for our future generations. Moreover, we are in continuous dialogue with the Minister for Gozo as well as the University of Malta and KSU regarding the problem of Wiseflow on Campus. It is a shame that after so much effort from past GUG executives who successfully brought University exams to Gozo, this has been brought back to square one with this issue where Gozitan students have to sit for their Wiseflow on campus exam in Malta. Although promised that from February 2024, these exams will start being offered in Gozo, it is still an ongoing problem and I will pass it on to the next executive to keep fighting for the rights of us Gozitan students who should not be going through such troubles during the already stressful exam season.
I believe that Gozitan students are becoming ever more confident in the GUG, as seen by the numerous messages received throughout the year, voicing their concerns as well as the large number of applications for the new executive roles. The GUG has genuinely shown over the past few years that it is an organization working not only for Gozitan students but also hand in hand with them.
Finally, I wish to thank each and every one of my fellow executive members for being such a support system this year, for all the courage and determination you showed and for always meeting any challenges headfirst. I will be forever grateful for this experience with you, all the memories we have created together and the bond that we share. You were and forever will be my second family. I also want to thank Eric and Christine who were my backbone this year. Thank you for giving me your support, for always picking up when I called and for listening to me stressing out on the problems we faced and showering me with positivity to help overcome them. I wouldn’t have done it without you! Forming part of GUG’s executive for the past four years, have been such a fulfilling experience, to say the least. It made me take a step, and a few more, out of my usual comfort zone, was the reason I met so many different people, some of which I can call friends, and it shaped me in the person I am today. I hope that the work we started will continue with you here today and the following generations of GUG executive members. I wish the new executive all the success that they wholeheartedly deserve and remember that vouching for fellow Gozitan students and working hard to help in all matters concerning Gozo and its youth, will forever be needed, and so GUG will continue to prosper through all of you.
Thank you.
Estelle Scicluna
GUG President
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