Back in February 2026, I had the honour and pleasure of being part of the organising committee for Seen and Heard: Young People’s Voices and Freedom of Expression, an interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral conference held from 5 to 7 February.

The conference featured keynote talks, presentations, and workshops, including the workshop LOUD & CLEAR: Zine-Making as Protest, Voice, and Participation, led by Dr Mar Sanchez (University of Glasgow), Dr Rowena Seabrook (The Open University), and Professor Melanie Ramdarshan Bold (University of Glasgow).

Although I was already familiar with zines and had bought a few by different artists over the years, I had never made one myself. That workshop was a real eye-opener, and ever since, I haven’t been able to stop making them!

In 2026, I went on to lead two workshops for children at the National Literacy Agency where I combined reading with making, exploring zine-making as a tool for self-expression. Inspired by the growing interest in zine culture elsewhere, In a world of wars and harted, sadness and madness, I believe zines can be a positive move with which to spread some joy and fight for a particular cause.

And so, a little dream has started to take shape: organising zine-making workshops … and yes, in Gozo!