In a one-to-one interview with The Malta Independent, Commissioner for Children Pauline Miceli stressed the need for more pedestrianised zones within Maltese localities.

Listing this concept as one effort which could easily be made to create more space for children to run around in, Miceli explained that this would also allow children to walk to school if they live in the vicinity. She added that such an initiative would also create safe spaces for children to play in after school.  

"In order for this to happen, there needs to be rerouting and further management of traffic," she added.

In the interview, this newspaper also spoke to Miceli about Vote16, the increase of household expenditure on education and the death of the seven-year-old Nigerian girl, amongst other things.

Voting for 16 year olds; what is your opinion on it?

We support what the Convention of Children's Rights stresses- the children's right to express an opinion and to have a voice, and nowadays, giving a child a voice is now being stressed more than ever.

From age 16 to 18 is a grey area, where the individuals are no longer children and the law already grants them certain adult rights, like marriage for example, even though they would need to get married with the consent of the parents. It also encourages them to participate, and we need to instill a civic duty and responsibility in children.

They (16 year olds) have their own mind and opinions to express; which we see whenever we visit schools as well as in youth parliament. At first they are prepared for the questions but then,  in an impromptu manner, they raise their hands and express an opinion.  Also, it is parliament that makes the laws which affect these youths directly or indirectly, so they should have a say in voting for parliament.

What we also want is a strong civil society with issue groups; where a particular issue has an issue group; this will ascend the borders of both political parties.

Do you think more education regarding democracy and critical thinking is needed to work alongside this right?

It's long been argued that at schools there needs to be more debate, and I think it is already happening. We have just asked the children's council whether things have changed during lessons; are you given a voice to express your opinion in class? And they replied yes for many subjects. When students express their opinion, some agree, some don't, and gradually they realize it need not be completely black or white, that there are these nuances.

What was your reaction to the death of the seven year old Nigerian girl?

We have issued a statement on the situation. We really can't comment at this stage because there are two investigations going on. The inquiries are not over yet so when they are over we will see what the outcome is. There are many stakeholders involved in this tragic story; Appogg and child protection, the refugee commissioner, health and identity Malta are others.It's a complex situation.

Studies show that people at the risk of poverty has increased, possibly due to high rental prices. Is the Commission in communication with the ministry to make sure children within these families are supported?

First of all, there's an anti-poverty strategy. We noticed there has been a really big effort to decrease the rate of poverty, especially among families with children; and the poverty statistics have gone down. The average of children at the risk of poverty and exclusion has gone down from 32% to 24% in 2016. 

High rentals are one of the issues. You have numerous families with children, who have a low income, and those are the ones who are more at risk of poverty. Though,the Labour Party had made a strong pledge in its manifesto saying they want to eradicate child poverty. Even though, I don't think it can ever be completely eradicated because there will always be small pockets of people left who fall out from the net.

From the side of the Education Ministry, there are the breakfast clubs. There are also incentives for women to go out to work so that their income increases, these are all measures. They are looking at the issue from different angles so that everyone will have a fair deal in this.

As a commission we will keep monitoring the situation to ensure that the electoral pledge to eradicte child poverty is kept.

Recently there was a report by NSO which shows that the money households spend on education has increased by 82 per cent. What factors do you think contribute to this statistic?

There could be various reasons. Extracurricular activities is one - today you need to pay for everything; material you need for the lessons and so on.

That's one factor, but you also have a factor which has emerged over the years, which is that because more people are well off, the government schools have depleted from their population, because the church schools and private schools have expanded.

If you are paying for education, in the case of church schools its donations,  that will increase the spenditure on education. Though now with foreigners, the government schools have stabilized their populations too.

There is an increasing amount of construction and traffic in Malta. Besides the fact that more children are staying indoors to play with technology, are you concerned that this is hindering children from going outside to play?

The use of technology- we always talk about an onlinfe/offline balance. If you allow children to keep on using technology, they will remain there; so in that case it is up to the parents themselves to plan their time to take the children outside and play. We have playgrounds and we have parks, though we don't have enough, I agree.

One of our responsibilities is to raise awareness about the issues of wellbeing and rights of the child. You notice that our localities don't cater enough for families and pedestrians.

I remember vividly, when I worked with the councils, I was always battling against this idea. Children tell us that in playgrounds they can't take their bikes or animals or play with a ball, which brings to light another issue; in order to use these play areas to kick around a ball, you need to be a member of the nursery or the place which owns the pitch to use it. My argument is that in each locality there should be a space which they can use. Each locality has small patches and parts which are publicly owned; and if they are not publicly owned, they should be made public. Of course, owners should be given compensation for the land, but there has to be a political will to provide these spaces.

Some initiatives to provide space to play will also need little effort. For example, I don't believe that parking spaces should be increased, in order to encourage children and families to walk to school, or even by pedestrianising the roads more permanently. This way, even when they leave the school, the children can play in the road and walk home.  In order for this to happen there needs to be rerouting and further management of traffic.

I think the fact that nowadays more families live in flats increases the need to go outside in the open air. You will be cooped up in an apartment all week, you would look to go outdoors on the weekend, it is almost a necessity.

Photos by Baskal Mallia