Minister for Equality, Employment, Culture and Tourism, the Hon. Christian Santos GMD MP was invited to speak at the Westside Talks at the Inces Hall on “What will Gibraltar be like in 10 years, and what will your role be?”

Minister Santos spoke about his own background in the arts, his work on stage abroad and how he founded the Gibraltar Academy of Music and Performing Arts. He also spoke of his time as Mayor of Gibraltar where he had the privilege of meeting a lot of the community and how that influenced his decision to run for Office as a Minister in His Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar.

He emphasised that Gibraltar’s strength lies in our community, our culture, heritage, language and traditions, and that these must be shared with the world. He stated that Gibraltar will continue to evolve and be shaped by generations to come and concluded his speech by encouraging the pupil audience to follow their dreams and work towards creating positive changes and putting Gibraltar on the map.

The other invited speakers were Dylan Ferro of Melon Diesel; Nadine Pardo-Zammit as a Netball umpire; Robert Lomax, creator of Gastro Rob; Ryan Asquez, the Llanito Doctor; and Paula Latin, CEO of GBC. All spoke on the same theme from their perspective and experiences.

Minister for Education, the Hon. Prof John Cortes, was in the audience to support Westside School organisers: Headteacher Dr Sonia Lopez and her team, and the students, who were a fully engaged and respectful audience.

Minister Santos said: “It was my pleasure to speak about one of my favourite subjects, Gibraltar, especially in the context of our culture and how each individual can influence and create positive change and unite people to make our community even greater in the future. I wish to thank Dr Lopez and her team at Westside School for organising such an exciting event, giving people from different backgrounds and interests a platform to share their views in response to such an interesting question.”