Speaking during a press conference to mark the end of a media campaign entitled “Together against bullying” organised by NGO Victim Support Malta (VSM) and funded through the NGO Fund, Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties Helena Dalli stated that a modern democracy reveals itself through a vibrant, strong and diverse civil society.
Minister Dalli remarked how NGOs are instrumental, both to raise issues on the national agenda and to make the necessary outreach to those among us who are most in need.
“I am a strong believer that government must provide the necessary backing and funding to civil society organisations to ensure that they are able to carry out their work and that they remain viable and sustainable” stated Dr Dalli.
Minister Dalli explained how the Ministry for Social Dialogue assists NGOs through three separate initiatives, the Civil Society Fund, the NGO Co-Financing Fund and the Voluntary Organisations Project Scheme, all of which increase the opportunities for NGOs to reach their vision. In this regard, Dr Dalli encouraged all NGOs to make use of the available resources including NGO resource centres and expertise in the field of civil liberties to build community ties, tackle discrimination and human rights abuses, and support victims.
Minister Dalli said that through this pilot project, we can translate the results into national projects and initiatives, and invited VSM to share the project results directly with the Ministry for Education and those responsible for implementing the anti-bullying policy in schools.
Ms Cher Engerer, Project Coordinator at Victim Support Malta explained how as part of its campaign, VSM have also formulated and launched their own psychosocial strategy called ‘SWAP’, devised to help victims, adults and other bystanders take the necessary corrective action during bullying situations.
Dr Roberta Lepre, Director of VSM gave an overview of the project whilst Ms Krista Tabone, Services Coordinator at VSM explained the various services offerred by Victim Support Malta.