The impact of Valletta 2018 on the European identity of the Maltese population

Abstract

This study examines whether Valletta 2018, the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) programme, affects the feelings of European identity of people in Malta, to what extent and among what segments of the population. It employs a mixed-method and whole-country approach spread over a four-year period (2015-2018). During the first year of the study (2015), extensive desktop research was conducted in order to determine the baseline scenario on the definitions of European Identity, Cultural Participation and Valletta 2018 exposure, together with data on several socio-economic descriptors of people in Malta. In the second year of the study (2016), a large-scale survey was undertaken, employing computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) on individuals aged over 18 years residing in private households. The survey returned around 850 responses which revealed interesting behavioural patterns in cultural attendance and participation. Given the complexity of the notion of European Identity, two focus group discussions were carried out in 2017 to obtain qualitative insights. A second large-scale survey was conducted in 2018 to yield a panel of observations, thus allowing a comparison between pre- and post-ECoC findings. This report illustrates the results of the 2018 wave of interviews which were completed on 20 November 2018.