With the benefit of hindsight, as I look back at this academic year that is coming to an end, I feel that one of the most important events the Faculty I lead was involved in was the hosting of the first Stakeholders meeting at the Aula Magna at the University of Malta Valletta Campus. Having the opportunity to sit with more than 50 NGOs, Commissions, Government Ministries and agencies around a table is no simple administrative feat but definitely worth all the effort we have put into it. The Faculty’s commitment to engage its social partners is, I believe, a fundamental role of a Faculty that is, through its scholarship, trying to understand how we can have a better society.
I am mentioning this fact because it is increasingly interesting to note that our society is immensely dependent on having strong welfare services. I believe that one way of measuring our society’s social wellbeing is by the way civil society engages with Government, by the bridges it builds and by the collective efforts taken to make things right. Welfare has shifted along the years from a model that is almost entirely focused on benefits and a Government taking the ‘big brother’ role to one that sees the Administration and civil society as a partnership sharing responsibilities with the beneficiaries of services. This in fact brought about the creation of Foundations, private-public partnerships, establishment of various funds amongst other. Apart from that we saw an improved rationalisation of social benefits. In all of this process having the service beneficiaries involved in the design and operational aspect of the service is fundamental. In more ways than one, having service users on board entailed that the agenda has appropriate positioning. What is imperative is that we do not create a tokenistic system which is just happy to ‘exhibit’ social stories more than actually addressing them.
Nonetheless, our social conscious is something we need to be proud of. We are a country that oozes solidarity and generosity and I believe that our Faculty is duty-bound to keep supporting this important dynamic.
At this point I feel that it is opportune to mention five organisations that are inspirational. They all have diverse roles in our social welfare system and merit being mentioned because they are prototypes of goodness and solidarity. What they also have in common is that they promote unity and harmony, cohesion and commonality. The camaraderie that is being developed in their organisations, I feel, is exemplary, stimulating and qualify for a quick mention.
Caritas – An NGO of repute with a tradition of supporting those at the bottom of the heap. During these last years, Caritas has not only provided immediate and emergency aid but has given a lesson to many showing that responding to the challenges of society is done by converging empirical and evidence based research with actual support. It is a fact that Caritas is close with those who nobody wants around. This richness and resilience of this agency is that it knows that most of the work it does will not reap immediate dividends and it is highly likely that a number of dropouts in the system keep emerging. Their commitment to the cause is huge.
Dar Kenn ghall-Sahhtek – This was an initiative taken by the Malta Community Chest Fund some years back. It is a fantastic high level programme focusing on people with eating disorders (the first of its kind in Malta). The Government came at a later stage to support this proposal and provide the monies to run the project. The model of this service shows that Government, specialists in the field and NGOs can work together, if given the chance and if there is an opportunity. Working in sync is fundamental. This is a service that accompanies many people (especially young people) who pass through the scourge of the pressures that society piles on them to be physically ‘perfect’.
CRPD (Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability) – Although a Commission that is entirely funded by the State, this Commission has managed to instil a very important function, namely that of combining; the monitoring of the agenda, the education of the general population and also provides the necessary infrastructure for this minority to build in a system whereby this disadvantaged population can take their agenda forward. The work of CRPD is focused on activism and not aggression, of helping people understand the role and not imposing values believing that if this is achieved there is a guarantee of an inclusive society.
Foundation for Social Welfare Services – This is the main government agency that provides social workers but also psychological support, youth workers and community development work amongst other. This State run agency is a fundamental loop in ensuring the protection of all those who are faced with discrimination. It is an agency that has mammoth responsibilities in ensuring that our society is just and fair, unbiased and unprejudiced.
President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society – This is another important loop in the way that social services have developed. We have seen that the President of the Republic is not just keen on providing the goods, collecting monies, on delivering medicines that are not made available by the State but also on creating a conversation that echoes across the different institutions. So far the President has worked very hard in providing a piazza, a safe space, within this organisation where people can debate and think of ways how to improve their communities and society.
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