The Golden Stars of Town-Twinning is a European Union award for outstanding town twinning projects. The town-twinning movement brings together municipalities throughout Europe, linking them in a dense network of citizens. Twinning provides the opportunity to find out more about the daily lives of citizens in other European countries, to talk to them and exchange experiences, and to develop joint projects on issues of common interest such as local integration, environment, economic development and culture.
The European Commission awards grants to the Twinning events which include educational programmes on topical European issues. Each year the European Commission awards the Golden Stars of Town-Twinning to ten outstanding projects that have contributed successfully to the European integration.
The Society of St Mary and King George V Band Club of Mqabba was awarded with the 'Golden Stars of Town-Twinning' in 1998 following a town-twinning organized with the Corpo Bandistico di Santa Vittoria in Matenano of Ascoli Piceno, Italy. The event took place in July 1996 when the King George V Band performed for the first time overseas. A year later, in 1997, the Italian Band was invited to deliver a performance in our village.
Upon the conclusion of this town-twinning, the two parties submitted their reports to the European Commission for evaluation. Our project was selected from amongst the 4,000 registered twinnings across Europe, reflecting the very high standard of its organisation. The Golden Stars of Town-Twinning award was presented to the Society of St Mary & King George V Band Club on the 13th November 1998 in Ferrera, Italy. The award consists in a commemorative plaque and a certificate bearing the signature of the European Union President.
The Executive Committee of the Society of St Mary thanks the Mqabba Local Council for its support and participation, as well as Mr Alfred Galea as the organiser of the event. This was the first time that a Maltese band club achieved such a prestigious honour. This recognition filled our Society with motivation to further increase our efforts in strengthening the name of our Society both locally and internationally.
