The Strickland Foundation

Mabel Strickland, journalist, newspaper owner and politician, had one strong motivating force in life: to be of service to the community. Sharing the ideals of her father, Lord Strickland, a former governor in the colonial service and a prime minister of Malta, she made her mark right from the time she started editing her two English language newspapers, The Times and The Sunday Times, in the mid-1930s up to the time she entered politics and remained active in the country’s social and political life for many years.

Ahead of her retirement, she sought to keep the Strickland legacy alive when in 1979 she placed the majority shareholding interest in Allied Newspapers Limited, publishers of the two newspapers, in trust under The Strickland Foundation.

Throughout her very active career in journalism, Miss Strickland worked in pursuit of knowledge and truth and made this the bedrock on which she developed, with so much enthusiasm and dedication, The Times and The Sunday Times.

In her own words, she wanted the foundation “to be of service to the people of Malta by helping in the development of freedom of thought and expression which, through a free press, is essential to the maintenance of democracy and basic for the proper development of the country”.

The objectives of The Strickland Foundation are:

To foster the national interest of Malta and in particular to promote democratic principles, the observance of human rights, and the exercise of a free press;
To uphold the European character of Malta and support Malta’s continued presence in the Commonwealth;
To help improve the standard of Maltese journalism, and the preservation of its freedom and independence.
To support philanthropic and charitable causes; the advancement of education, including physical education and sport; and the advancement of religion, health, social and community services, culture, the arts, national heritage and environmental protection and improvement;
To finance scholarships and other activities for the attainment or furtherance of any of these objectives;
To assist in such manner as may be advisable and within the means available persons who are or were employees of Allied Newspapers Limited and members of their families.