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Guest Contributor

Opinion & Analysis

RichardsRendezvous The culture thing: a revisit

Yes, culture and language in their true sense. Does Gibraltar have a language all of its own and a clearly defined culture? These issues are still floating around in my brain, especially lately, as so much has been said about our Yanito – or Llanito - lingo, and whether we do have a distinct culture...

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Brian Reyes

Opinion & Analysis

Behind the Brexit headlines

In this piece based on his GibTalks address earlier this month, Chronicle editor Brian Reyes reflects on the years since the Brexit referendum in 2016 and on some deeper underlying issues worth pondering in a world in flux. Toward the end of May in 2016, a few weeks before the Brexit referendum, I found myself...

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Alice Mascarenhas

Opinion & Analysis

Michael’s 50-year journey with the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award part 2

Michael Pizzarello returns to Alice’s Table this week as we celebrate his 50 -year history with the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award. This year he also celebrates 35 years as National Director in Gibraltar. He joined the youth movement back in 1975. This was the year before he joined the Civil Service, at the age...

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Guest Contributor

Opinion & Analysis

#BusinessMatters GACO takes rotating European Presidency, Young Enterprise and Startup Grind’s Ziglu event – the week

Gibraltar’s Association of Compliance Officers (GACO) has joined the European body representing national associations – and is due to take the rotating helm of its presidency next month. In an sector awash with acronyms, GACO has become a member of ENFCO (European Network for Compliance Officers), a grouping of not-for-profit associations for in-house compliance professionals...

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Jonathan Pizarro

Opinion & Analysis

#ChasingNelson Digital Orphans

One of the few positives from the pandemic in 2020 was accidentally stumbling onto an online community on what was then Twitter. It was on my balcony that spring, one of the rare places to get some fresh air, that someone suggested I put some of my thoughts and shared tweets about being Gibraltarian into...

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Alice Mascarenhas

Opinion & Analysis

Michael’s 50-year journey with the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award part 2

Michael Pizzarello returns to Alice’s Table this week as we celebrate his 50 -year history with the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award. This year he also celebrates 35 years as National Director in Gibraltar. He joined the youth movement back in 1975. This was the year before he joined the Civil Service, at the age...

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Guest Contributor

Opinion & Analysis

#RichardsRendezvous Thinking about things

Well, we’re well done with the celebrations by now surely, and as they say, ‘another one bites the dust’. And, I suppose we really do start thinking about, ave que nos trae este new year? You may start reflecting on things that come to mind from time to time, such as the infamous treaty, although...

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Gabriella Peralta

Opinion & Analysis

Five years on, Covid memories fade

The walls in the bunker of No.6 Convent Place could tell some stories, especially from early 2020. Sat down with Civil Contingencies Coordinator Ivor Lopez, he summed up almost two years of “hell” in an hour-long presentation. “Actually looking back sometimes, it feels like it never happened,” Mr Lopez said. “It just seemed that it...

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Guest Contributor

Opinion & Analysis

#BusinessMatters Esports in Gibraltar spreads its wings abroad and looks to encourage locals to become industry professionals – the week

by Simon Warburton The Gibraltar’s Esports and Video Gaming Association (GEVGA) says it is aiming to see three Rock residents eventually take up full-time positions in the burgeoning sector.  Esports are booming around the world and, with the colossal might of the $2bn games industry firmly behind it, the sector is rapidly moving from being...

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Manar Ben Tahayekt

Opinion & Analysis

Great strides in inclusion, but more to be do be done

Gibraltar has made significant strides in recent years in fostering inclusion and accessibility for individuals with disabilities. Several key initiatives have been introduced, including the Supported Employment Programme, the Paths initiative and the creation of the Supported Needs Disability Office. These initiatives underscore a renewed focus on empowerment and enhancing services for the disability community....

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Jonathan Pizarro

Opinion & Analysis

#Chasing Nelson: On Mute

Our smart home is not so smart. We have an Apple Home Hub in every room of the house, which in turn connects to every phone and tablet and the television and several speakers and even the camera that keeps an eye on the dog. You would think that the idea of voice-activated commands would...

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Guest Contributor

Opinion & Analysis

New Year Message by Keith Azopardi, Leader of the Opposition

As we look forward to 2025 we need to reflect on recent events. At the start of last year we had just emerged from the closest election ever in which we had campaigned on big issues affecting our financial and democratic governance. We had said to you that there was a public finances crisis that...

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Guest Contributor

Opinion & Analysis

#RichardsRendezvous The R word once more

Hello again, yes, R as in Resolutions for this New Year of 2025. An activity, pursuit, or even a diversion, I would say many of us like to take part in in an attempt to succeed - although likewise, many are equally miserable failures, at achieving their chosen target. I think I’ve said it before,...

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Alice Mascarenhas

Opinion & Analysis

Another new year for Alice’s Table as we look back to 112 years ago

Happy New Year to all – here we begin another year with all the best wishes in health and happiness 2025 can bring you. Alice’s Table is already four months into its seventh year. How did that happen? We have sat and chatted to many well-known personalities over the years and learnt many things we...

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Guest Contributor

Opinion & Analysis

Chief Minister’s New Year message

This is the full text of a New Year message by Chief Minister Fabian Picardo , broadcast on GBC on Tuesday night. My dear fellow Gibraltarians, I hope that you have enjoyed the Christmas and Hanukkah break with your families. I know that not everyone has had a lovely family break. Those of you with...

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Priya Gulraj

Opinion & Analysis

#ChaiWithPriya Mumbai calling…

When I think back to my childhood, the memories trace back to those long summer holidays spent in Bombay, now Mumbai, with my parents and my brother. Seven weeks off from school gave us an ample amount of time to hang out at my Nani’s house and my mum’s side of the family, go on...

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Jonathan Pizarro

Opinion & Analysis

#ChasingNelson La Mar, La Mar

I have no first memory of the sea. I don’t remember learning to swim, or how salt water tasted in my mouth for the first time. Even when Gibraltar embraced modernity, for good or ill, and covered the landscape with high-rise buildings of glass and steel, you can’t see the water, but you can smell...

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Guest Contributor

Opinion & Analysis

New Year message ‘We must remain firm on fundamentals’

By Dr Jospeh Garcia, Deputy Chief Minister and Leader of the Liberal Party When a new year opens it is generally accompanied by plenty of good wishes and hope for the future, but at the same time there is always a sense of apprehension as to precisely what that future will hold. FESTIVE As we...

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Guest Contributor

Opinion & Analysis

#BusinessMatters Minister hails Startup Grind Awards, Supported Employment Conference, new GFSC member, Sanctions Seminar – the week

GFSC new Board member Gibraltar’s Financial Services Commission (GFSC) says Hayley Robinson has joined its Board, bringing experience as a global insurance leader and subsequently as a Non-Executive Director (NED). As recently as April this year, Mrs Robinson was Strategic Advisor to the UK CEO of Zurich Insurance Company and a member of its UK...

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Brian Reyes

Opinion & Analysis

2025: The year of the treaty?

I was tempted, when I sat down to write this piece, to copy and paste my reflections from last year on the treaty negotiation and just change the date. I think I could have got away with it, given not much appears to have shifted on that front. “As the year draws to a close,...

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Guest Contributor

Opinion & Analysis

Governor’s Christmas message

by Lieutenant General Sir Ben Bathurst, Governor of Gibraltar Kate and I would like to wish everyone in Gibraltar a very happy Christmas. We would like to thank you for the warmth of your welcome since our arrival and for the kindness we have received in the six months we have been here. Almost every...

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Guest Contributor

Opinion & Analysis

#RichardsRendezvous New this Christmas

Yes, candy canes have appeared on the Rock in public for the populace to enjoy for the very first time: at the Trafalgar roundabout and at the John Mackintosh Hall, supporting the entrance, and in their Christmas diorama in the foyer/entrance. I think many of us, if not most, assume the tradition like so many...

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Alice Mascarenhas

Opinion & Analysis

JMH still plays a pivotal role in all our lives, and long may it continue

Alice’s Table returns to the John Mackintosh Hall for the third and final week as we once again look within its walls and the important role it has played in the life of this community for the past 60 years. At the time of opening in 1964, the remit for the Board was very clear....

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Guest Contributor

Opinion & Analysis

#BusinessMatters Startup Grind’s annual awards showcase, Chestertons raises huge charity sum and new architectural visualisation for Barton – the week

by Simon Warburton Startup Grind A packed Sunborn ballroom saw the Startup Grind Gibraltar Awards 2024 recognise achievement across a wide range of Rock businesses. Hosted as ever by the indefatigable Denise Mathews and Mark Wilson, the Awards have become something of a fixture on the Gibraltar calendar. Some 50 nominees, featuring startups, businesses, and...

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James Neish

Opinion & Analysis

The Heart of the Community: The GBC Open Day

By James Neish £197,000. Se dice pronto. That’s the staggering amount we raised last year on GBC Open Day. It’s much more than a number – for many charities it’s a lifeline, enabling them to continue providing vital services to those who need them the most. Every single penny raised goes to charity. The money...

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Guest Contributor

Opinion & Analysis

Society must act to tackle domestic abuse and relegate it to the past

International Human Rights Day, observed on December 10, marks the conclusion of the annual 16-day global campaign of activism against gender-based violence. The campaign begins each year on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and highlights one of the most pervasive and entrenched human rights violations worldwide.  Violence against women and...

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Priya Gulraj

Opinion & Analysis

#ChaiWithPriya Until we meet again

If the walls of Sacarello’s Café could talk, I wonder what secrets would be revealed. I am sat at my favourite table, in the ‘pit’ section of the café while I write this column, reminiscing over the countless hours spent within these walls. And just like me, so many others made Sacarello’s Café a home...

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Jonathan Pizarro

Opinion & Analysis

#ChasingNelson: Casa

I arrived about ten minutes late to Mass at Holy Rosary Church in Washington DC. I tried my best to sneak in through the door, but a woman in one of the back pews heard a creak and turned around to give me a look so severe, I could have been struck dead by one...

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Alice Mascarenhas

Opinion & Analysis

John Mackintosh legacy at 60, still at very much the heart of this community

As we continue on our journey through the 60 years of the John Mackintosh Hall there can be no doubt this institution continues to be at the heart of this community.Author of the book ‘Making a Difference: The Life and Times of John Mackintosh’, Richard Garcia, believes the Hall which continues to be in constant...

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Guest Contributor

Opinion & Analysis

Local Police Commissioner?

By Robert Vasquez The need for a Commissioner of Police from outside Gibraltar is palpable. It is a view boosted by the Opinion Piece from former Commissioner of Police Louis Wink, “The Case for a Local Commissioner”. Mr Wink’s own arguments counter the conclusion that a local appointee is best right now. In the UK,...