A group of Year 5 students participated in this year’s edition of “Oħloq Kultura”, part of the Valletta 2018 Foundation Education Program. This project has helped the students become aware of Culture Capitals, like Valletta 2018, in a fun and creative manner.

During the 10 sessions, the children formed a made-up culture – “Stozen”, in a fashion comparable to how cultures come about in real life. The first 9 sessions were held at school, while the last session was held at Paola Primary.

By paralleling this discovery to how Valletta was created as a city with its own culture, the children learnt about history, architecture and cultural heritage. The students also devised a press release in preparation for the launch of their cultural programme for their made up town, thus helping them understand the work being done by the Valletta 2018 Foundation.

A Skype call with Paola Primary was held during which students spoke to each other about their town, and presented it to each other. This created a cultural exchange and formed opportunities for the students to make new friends. The children finalised their cultural calendar, also involving events from their partner school. They met in person at Paola Primary to publicly introduce their made up culture and discuss their cultural programme.