For any strategy to succeed, it is important that there is a strong awareness of its vision, priorities and the goals being pursued not just by those who implement the strategy, but indeed, with the wider community of stakeholders being affected.

Within our context, the Lisbon Strategy and the implementation of Malta’s National Reform Programme, a two-way communication with stakeholders and citizens, is essential for the ownership of effective and lasting reform.

Communication therefore leads us to understand objectives and their intended results, which facilitates consensus building on the priorities and the overall direction of policies. This is what we have concentrated on especially last year during the formulation of our first National Reform Programme. We have spent considerable time and effort in consultation. The involvement of social partners and civil society and the full opportunity for the participation of the wider public are, in our opinion, essential.

Last year, we engaged in several discussions on the Lisbon Strategy with the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development and made it a point to schedule a specific meeting with the EU Commission on every visit.

A conference was organised to launch the intended consultation process and moreover to raise awareness on how Malta can contribute towards achieving the goals set by the Lisbon strategy as outlined in the Commission guidelines. This conference was followed by meetings with the Commission and with the publication of a public consultation document.

Subsequently, several one-to-one meetings were held with social partners and civil society organisations. Their feedback was a very valid input into the final National Reform Programme. From our end, we have sustained our participation in events organised by social partners and civil society following the publication of the Commission’s assessment of the Malta National Reform Programme.

True and thorough consultation is at the heart of the government’s agenda. This is evidenced by initiatives such as the pre-budget document “A better quality of life 2006-2010”, the pensions reform proposals, the National Strategic Reference Framework and recently, the Operational Programmes under Cohesion Policy 2007-2013.

These initiatives have contributed to the creation of a broad discussion on the priorities and reforms required. The NRP is no exception and the process adopted has followed the consultation trend. The government intends to continue this consultation process within its decision making process. We intend to present to the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development the draft First Annual Progress Report on the implementation of the Malta National Reform Programme.

Now that the implementation phase is well underway, we need to communicate the achievements being made as a result of the Lisbon Strategy. Where do we want to go in communicating Lisbon?

Communicating the Lisbon strategy presents a number of challenges.

First of all, it is vital that we enhance the level of public interest by effectively communicating the positive message of growth and jobs through economic reforms pursued by national governments in line with the Lisbon Agenda. This will have a beneficial impact on the credibility of the renewed Lisbon Strategy. In view of this, Malta supports the Commission’s re-branding of the Lisbon Strategy.

Secondly, we do not believe that one size fits all, in such a wide-ranging agenda and multitude of audiences available in member states. What may be beneficial to one member state could be of lesser importance or relevance in another. Hence, we feel that the above core message, the substance of growth and jobs, should permeate communication strategies which are tailored to fit the specificities of member states.

Thirdly, it is quite a challenge to communicate the Lisbon Strategy in such a way that it is easily understandable by everyone. Thus engaging people to participate in the process is even more difficult. What matters to the citizen is essentially income, employment, opportunity and participation rates. We have to find a way of making trends and National Reform Programme initiatives more widely known. We have to ask ourselves various questions.

Apart from sustaining existing practices, such as conferences and information materials, how can we adopt creative approaches to reach out further?

How can the media be engaged more effectively, by segmenting, targeting audiences and adapting messages and content to meet their particular needs?

Given that the audiovisual media is the most popular in Malta, how can we best exploit this medium?

How can we make best use of all available resources, including the participation of social partners and civil society, in a concerted effort?

What is certain is that the effort required is certainly not a unilateral one destined for the government. We strongly believe that civil society organisations should play a key role in inculcating the objectives of the Lisbon Strategy within their members. We also strongly commit ourselves to act with you as one team with a common objective – that of making Malta a country that has truly delivered economic growth as well as jobs (of the highest level possible).

Moreover, although the National Reform Programme addresses the medium term between 2005 and 2008, it also has long-term implications as it brings forward cultural change. We are now faced with socio-economic developments, mostly resulting from the effects of globalisation. Hence, we need to encourage further awareness of these issues and to promote a wider debate on the need for change. These issues are pervasive and affect most sectors of Maltese society. Indeed, we are facing paradigm shifts.

From a knowledge economy perspective, how do we look at research and development – is it an investment or a cost? How do we encourage innovation in our businesses in an economy which historically has not invested much in innovation?

From a business perspective, how can we tap into the markets within the EU? How can we communicate this further to an economy which has an established importation culture? How can we tap into indirect channels, including internet marketing and e-business, to boost our sales and develop new markets?

From an employment perspective, the mindset is changing from a job for life to employability. There is now more recognition of relatively new professions in the market and we are no longer limited by the traditional ones. How do we encourage more female participation and work-life balance in a society which has deep-rooted social models?

From an education perspective, how do we raise the profile of life-long learning?

From an environmental perspective, there is the need to instill a way of thinking that factors in the ecological dimension in whatever we do.

From a healthy economy perspective, the way of thinking is changing from a short-term planning horizon to an intergenerational approach.

All the above questions, dilemmas and changing mindsets are of interest to us all. We need to reflect upon them and make them the focus of discussions in our own circles as well as in wider fora. It is only in this manner that the level of awareness will be raised. It goes without saying that communication and education need to go hand in hand. They are both necessary but not sufficient.

The government is committed towards achieving the objectives set within the Lisbon Strategy through the timely and effective implementation of its National Reform Programme.

The importance attached to implementing the National Reform Programme is reflected by the assignment of the political ownership of the Lisbon Agenda to the Cabinet Committee on Competitiveness which I chair and which is one of the highest organs of the government’s decision making process.

We are pleased to be assisted on this project by the Management Efficiency Unit, which is now also entrusted with the monitoring of the NRP’s implementation process and which is therefore very much involved in securing the internal implementation and awareness raising within the government.

The Lisbon Agenda is only achievable with the participation of all stakeholders. Communication is a precondition to building trust.

Censu Galea is Competitiveness and Communications Minister