Raħal il-Letteratura celebrates literature and promotes it in various ways. Through this initiative, Hela Foundation aims to collect the stories and experiences of people from Rabat, and share them. It also aims to raise awareness about books as a physical object, as well as an experience, all whilst giving due importance to literary heritage.
This initiative is a creative and cultural act, but also touches upon an economic aspect. The project’s goal is to create a certain sense of curiosity and discovery surrounding the book and everything it means to the people hailing from Rabat, and also those who do not. As a representative voice of the sector it forms part of, Hela Foundation will lead this initiative with the hope that it serves as an example for other villages to follow suit, that it leads to similar initiatives on a national level as well. Thus there could be cooperation between different villages that prioritise culture, creativity and literature in their work.
Hela Foundation is collaborating with several partners on this project: Studio Solipsis, Inizjamed, Malta Libraries, Merlin Publishers, the National Literacy Agency, Heritage Malta, the National Archives of Malta and the Rabat Local Council. Among the activities that have been organised so far in connection to the project, there have been literary newspapers, public readings, readings in schools and raising awareness about Book Day.
Through the Kotba Kullimkien campaign, Hela Foundation aspires for books to be present and visible in central places that are frequented by the people of Rabat and others in the locality, such as Optika Opticians, Point de Vue, Studio Solipsis and Isabelle Saliba Clinic. The books can also be found at Junior College’s Book Box. The project will continue spreading to different places so that books remain visible and present, and become a point of discussion at the heart of the community.
Raħal il-Letteratura is a project which has been supported by the President’s Award for Creativity and the Malta Arts Council for three years. The Kotba Kullimkien campaign has been supported by the National Literacy Agency which was among the first to give space to this initiative, along with Merlin Publishers and Kotba Calleja.
