Ruth Frendo is an award-winning (internationally and locally) and established author, television/film producer and television presenter who has been working continuously since 2001. She is also responsible for over thousands of hours of television programming on both Malta's national broadcaster and the biggest private television station. The programmes include documentaries; prime-time talk shows; cultural, book-review and movie-review programmes; and children's programmes, amongst many others.
In 2017, she was one of the eight European personalities chosen to take part in the Erasmus+ campaign, and also given the Success Story Erasmus Plus award by the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Other awards include the European Label Language Award 2015 and the Frans Sammut Award 2016 for her promotional work of the Maltese language.
Ruth has also worked as the magazine editor of various Maltese publications, including the islands' top-selling magazine Gwida, the bi-monthly magazine Wow! and the educational publication Karavan. She has penned four bestselling books, three of which are Malta’s first interactive books using augmented reality, and a book that was based on one of her television programmes. She also wrote a book for charity, which was endorsed by Her Excellency the President of Malta and which was also distributed in all of the island’s schools. She was commissioned to write a series of e-books, in both Maltese and English, to promote the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Ruth’s research has been translated in seven languages, whilst her work has been published in an array of local and international (UK and USA) publications. Ruth is also the scriptwriter and producer of a variety of audio-visual work including: Malta's first stopmotion series and Malta's first family-oriented movie, which was shown at cinemas in 2017 and 2018. Furthermore, she has worked as the PRO for an international song festival.
Additionally, Ruth is considered as one of Malta's most popular presenters and has presented a variety of national live events and television shows. During the years, she has been interviewed on different publications and has also graced various magazine covers.
Ruth is the Secretary of the non-government organization called Write Deal Association, whose main aim is to use the media to promote important social and environmental issues. During the years, she has been responsible for the application, development and production of a variety of projects. These include a Gruntwig project involving seven countries which resulted in the production of a documentary. Additionally, Ruth has produced/coordinated a short movie showing the consequences of bullying. The crew and cast included youngsters who hail from some of Malta's most disadvantaged social backgrounds.
Furthermore, she was the writer, producer, coordinator and PRO of a series of professional 2D cartoons that promoted a number of social issues. These cartoons won both local and international awards and were also officially endorsed by Her Excellency the President of Malta.
In 2017, Ruth developed and coordinated a project with autistic children who were taught by a professional folley artist to create sounds for cartoons using mundane objects. The cartoons with the autistic children’s sounds were shown during a specially-organized activities where the children's families were present.
During the years, Ruth has presented a number of fund-raising activities, both televised and live. These range from some of Malta's most popular televised marathons, to international fund-raising fashion shows, to disabled children's talent shows, amongst many others. The impacts include: raising awareness of voluntary organizations; raising much-needed funds; and meeting with and empowering disadvantaged individuals.
She has a Masters degree in PR and Media from the University Sheffield Hallam, England. Ruth is married to Charlo C Bonnici, whom she describes as the love of her life, and resides in Malta. Her hobbies include reading, watching movies and travelling.