Singers Ira Losco, Kurt Calleja and Gianluca Bezzina are among the first local names appointed as Reading Ambassadors by the Ministry for Education and Employment. The aim of this initiative is to promote reading and improve perceptions on literacy in schools through local names that children can relate to. The day was marked during an event in Sliema where the ambassadors were unveiled and various initiatives such as story-telling and group reading were held. Background Information – The National Literacy Strategy The importance of continuously striving to improve levels of literacy in both Maltese and English cannot be emphasised enough and is highlighted in various statistics whereby Malta lacks behind of the EU average.