By: Rixt van Dongera

A delegation from Malta visited Fryslân and the Fryske Akademy on Friday the 24th of June. The delegates were Ms Rita Saliba and Ms Leanne Ellul, both active in the cultural and literary field in Valetta, Malta.

The delegation visited the Fryske Akademy in the context of the Potatoes Go Wild project, a joint project which is meant to be a literary exchange between the two European cultural capitals in 2018: Leeuwarden in Fryslân, The Netherlands and Valetta in Malta. The Stichting Bildtse Aardappelweken welcomed and hosted the Maltese guests in Fryslân and Rixt van Dongera from Mercator Research Centre / Fryske Akademy provided them with a tour of the recently constructed historic buildings of the Fryske Akademy.

After the tour, the group walked over to Tresoar, where representatives from Tresoar and Cedin joined the delegation. In that afternoon session, Wieke de Haan (Tresoar), Taeke Oppewal (Tresoar), Jelle Bangma (Cedin) and Rixt van Dongera (Mercator / Fryske Akademy) each presented their respective organizations and informed the delegation what projects they were currently working on. These presentations led to a highly active and fruitful discussion and only much later than initially intended did the delegation return to their hotel in order to pack their bags and leave for their flight home.