Nominees for first LGBTI Community Awards announced

What do Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna, pop singer Ira Losco and Prime Minister Joseph Muscat have in common? They have all been nominated for the first ever LGBTI Community Awards.

The awards ceremony will be held on 29 November and Scicluna, Losco and Muscat are among the 20 nominees in the running for six separate awards.

In a statement issued today, the organisers underlined the significan achievements and progress registered over the last few months, with the cherry on the cake being the introduction of Civil Unions.

“The passing of the bill for Civil Unions in April of this year was a huge milestone after years of campaigning by MGRM and others. We feel the time has now come for the LGBTI Community to give back to Maltese society by recognising and rewarding positive role models in Malta from the last 12 months.”

The organisers said that in association with the Malta Gay Rights Movement a Gala Awards Evening will be held later this month to celebrate by presenting awards in three categories.

The first awards will go to members of broader Maltese society who regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity gave a contribution in four different sectors of life; sports, human rights, entertainment and religion.

Footballer Luke Dimech and bowling legend Sue Abela are vying for the first award while MGRM coordinator Gabi Calleja and Aditus Foundation director Neil Falzon are in the running for the human rights award.

Pop singer Ira Losco will be facing a firm challenge by internationally acclaimed tenor Joseph Calleja for the entertainment gong while Auxillary Bishop Charles Scicluna and rebel priest Mark Montebello were nominated for the religious person award.

Three other awards will go to persons who have furthered the cause of LGBTI equality in Malta, with equal opportunities minister Helena Dalli and Prime Minister Joseph Muscat being nominated for the politician of the year award, MaltaToday’s own Raphael Vassallo and the Times’ Ariadne Massa vying for the journalism award and NetEnt and Radisson Hotels in the running for best employer.

Three other awards will go to members of our LGBTI community in Malta, with Darren Anthony Galea and Beverly Abela nominated in the marriage proposal category, Mina and Luisa Tolu in the student category and Mr & Mrs Leslie Sammut facing Angele Licari in the best parent award.

In Eurovision style, the nominees for each category were chosen by a combination of public voting (via a survey widely publicized in the LGBTI community and accessed in excess of 1000 times) and input from a committee from the MGRM leadership, giving us an excellent representation of the Maltese LGBTI community.