Promoting the integration of minority groups has long been a universal challenge, regardless of the country or culture they seek to assimilate into. Malta is no exception. Over the years, numerous efforts have been made to foster integration and combat stereotypes, especially those concerning migrants and multicultural communities. This was the objective of the I.COM European Project, a venture co-funded by the Asylum, Migration, and Integration Fund of the European Union. For the past two years, the project has united nine partners from seven different countries, including Malta, aiming to address negative perceptions of migrants and other social groups through the medium of music.

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As a key partner in the project, Malta hosted its own pilot initiatives organized and overseen by Festivals Malta. These initiatives took the form of workshops, drawing participants from diverse backgrounds. With the support of dedicated youth workers from the NGO PRISMS, the workshops provided a nurturing environment where young people could build trust, mutual respect, and understanding while exploring the benefits of integration and the harmful effects of stereotyping through various team-building activities. Throughout the workshops, participants were introduced to music by industry professionals such as David Leguesse and Aidan Somers. Music served as a creative outlet for the youths to express their emotions and share their experiences. Consequently, the participants produced three professionally filmed music videos, each addressing different aspects of life. While the initial songwriting process delved into heavy themes, as evident in the song "Għajjejt," the youths gradually embraced a more positive outlook, reflected in "I Love my Friends" and "L-Imħabba."

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Annabelle Stivala, CEO of Festivals Malta, noted that the agency's involvement in the project stemmed from a chance encounter during a collaboration meeting in Viareggio between Maltese and Viareggio Carnival representatives. Stivala expressed excitement at being offered a role as partners for the I.COM project, emphasizing the agency's commitment to community engagement through music. She praised the inspiring outcome of the workshops, where participants, despite having little to no prior musical experience, created three original compositions. Stivala described it as an honor for Festivals Malta to be part of the project and witness the artistic growth of the young participants.

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Recently, members of the I.COM Project logistics team from Festivals Malta, led by project manager Jeanelle Vella and accompanied by Celine Caruana and Mario Cassar from the Marketing Department, as well as Francis Agius, the Head of Festivals Malta, visited Seravezza, Italy, for a dedicated conference. The conference provided an opportunity for all partners to present their projects and music videos, yielding overall positive results. A post-mortem analysis conducted by leading partner Fondazione Terre Medicee revealed favorable findings, indicating that most participants demonstrated increased receptivity to integration and greater confidence in challenging stereotypes and negative attitudes toward migration and minority groups following the project.