The Tumas Fenech Foundation for Education in Journalism (Fondazzjoni Tumas Fenech għall-Edukazzjoni fil-Ġurnaliżmu) was established in 2000 with the aim of strengthening the written and broadcast media in Malta through more education and technical preparation of journalists, both those already in practice as well as those aspiring to join the profession in the future.

Study courses and seminars have been held in the past covering a number of fields. The Board of Studies of the Foundation is always occupied with the task of organising these courses and seminars.

One of the fields in which we have been approached in the recent past is that of economic and business journalism.

This year, the programme is to be inaugurated by a seminar entitled “The Media’s Involvement in the Financial Services Industry” on Friday, 22 January, 2016. It is being organised with the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), in association with the Institute of Maltese Journalists (IĠM) and Leading Talks Malta.

The provision of Financial Services under the supervision of a well-respected Authority has become one of the mainstays of our country’s economy.

It is vital that the Maltese citizen should find in his local media, correct and up to date information concerning the financial markets, as well as expert opinion as to the risks incurred and responsibilities assumed by those who operate in this sector.

There will be two keynote speakers at the seminar, Caroline Mitchell, Lead Ombudsman at the Financial Ombudsman Service in the UK, responsible for Stakeholder Strategy, which brings together the press and communications teams with outreach and policy, and Elena Peresso, Policy Co-Ordinator in the Directorate General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union – DG FISMA – at the European Commission. We are making available their biographies.

Caroline Mitchell

Elena M Peeress

What will also be greatly beneficial to those who attend will be an extended discussion session with the participation of the two keynote speakers, along with Geoffrey Bezzina, Director, Consumer Complaints Unit, at the Malta Financial Services Authority (also Consumer Complaints Manager in terms of the MFSA Act), and Edward Rizzo of the College of Stockbrokers. There will be brief interventions from the chairman of the panel, the economist Dr Gordon Cordina, apart from Mr Bezzina and Mr Rizzo and those who attend will be able to ask questions.