A Malta branch of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) was set up on the initiative of Dr Theresa Vella, who was then the principal officer at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta and Dr Claude Busuttil who is a conservation architect. The launch was held at St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity in Valletta on 18 May 2002.

The ICOM-Malta executive board, chaired by Theresa M. Vella, included Marquis Nicholas de Piro, vice-chairman; Dr Claude Busuttil, secretary general; Joseph Galea Naudi, treasurer; and Mgr John Azzopardi, Suzannah Depasquale, Charles J. Farrugia, and Joseph Schirò, members.

Speaking during the launch, Marquis de Piro said the Maltese loved to collect things and so many fascinating items had come out of hiding during the past 20 years. Marquis de Piro said that Malta’s heritage was equivalent to that of a great state in Europe but funds for its upkeep were hard to find. Museums should, however, show the aspirations of the Maltese people more, he said.

The late Mgr John Azzopardi, affectionately known as Dun Gwann, said that Catholic cathedrals had since the sixth century held a treasure trove that could be used to bridge any financial problems they came across. He said that when it came to museums, he found that people were more prone to pass on precious artistic items to the Church than they were prepared to donate them to the state. Dun Gwann said church sacristies and storerooms held a whole array of religious artifacts that needed to be evaluated and catalogued.

The meeting was also addressed by Ms Depasquale, assistant curator at the Museum of Archaeology in Valletta, and by Education Minister Dr Louis Galea.