The Policy Development and Programme Implementation Directorate within the Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity in conjunction with the EU Commission hosted a peer review in Malta on Tuesday and yesterday.

A peer review is a two-day seminar where delegates from various EU member states meet to discuss examples of good practice. Malta’s peer review, which was attended by representatives from seven EU member states alongside Maltese participants, focused upon the Cottonera community project, Access with particular reference to children and families.

Access was identified as an example of good practice since it provides a focused, holistic and outreach response to the needs of the local community. Access, which was inaugurated in November 2002, acts as an innovative service platform that brings together a number of different social welfare service providers, namely Agenzija Appogg, the Employment and Training Corporation, the Social Security Department, Adult Training Centres, the Housing Authority, the Family and Child Care Centre and the Foundation for Educational Services.

Access thus serves as an inter-agency and interdisciplinary one-stop-shop in the provision of social welfare services for residents of the Cottonera region. Moreover, by recognising the realities and priority needs of the region, Access is also able to provide awareness, prevention and early intervention programmes that effectively contribute to a long-term approach to social cohesion.

One of the key objectives of a peer review is to enable participants to discuss the transferability of examples of good practices.

Access in Cottonera is in fact already serving as a model for the transferability of such an approach even on a national level with the planned setting up of such community centres in other parts of Malta.

For further information regarding the services offered by Access, please visit the website www.mfss.gov.mt. One may also phone on tel.: 2398-5110 or send an email to: [email protected].