The Malta Chamber of SMEs has won the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) solidarity prize.

The entry submitted by the Maltese Chamber of SMEs is among 23 projects from the EU and the UK that have received the award “for their outstanding contribution to fighting Covid-19 and its disastrous consequences,” the Chamber said in a statement. Each winner received a prize worth €10,000.

The Malta Chamber of SMEs received the award as one of the entries focusing on the theme "educational services and information on the pandemic". 

As the crisis took hold, the Chamber – which represents over 7 000 SMEs - altered its work and created a support structure for them that focused on their essential needs and ultimate survival. This included exchange of good practices, information sessions, masterclasses, conferences, webinars, policy proposals and public representation.

“The initiative of the Chamber of SMEs was tailor-made for the Covid-19 situation and proved effective in filling a gap in support that businesses desperately needed. On a social level, business owners were looking for guidance and, as social partners, the chamber had a responsibility to fill that role. It stayed in contact with members and raised their concerns at the policy level. Business owners turned to the chamber for assistance on eligibility and applications for support schemes, as well as constructive dialogue on how to come out of the crisis stronger. The SME platform enabled members to share experiences and look positively to the future. More than 100 people took part in each of the tailored webinars, on topics such as cash flow, mental resilience, business re-engineering and online fraud,” the statement read. 

Handing out the prizes, the EESC's vice-president for communication, Cillian Lohan, said:  "The EESC has repeatedly stressed that solidarity and targeted shared action are key to surviving such a pandemic. The only effective response to a crisis such as this pandemic is to act quickly, decisively, and together. There are lessons here for dealing with other crises whether they are social, economic or environmental. Civil society has been at the forefront of all solidarity actions and without their help on the ground, the price paid for this pandemic would be much higher. All the projects we received are proof of selfless citizen and grassroots engagement, showing the contribution of civil society in this fight to be enormous. With this prize, we are acknowledging the people and organisations making a difference in these unprecedented times. It is an honour to be able to celebrate together".

The awards went to the winning entries from 21 countries of the European Union. One prize was given to a project with a cross-border focus and one to an organisation from the United Kingdom, as a gesture meant to show that the EESC wanted to keep close ties with UK civil society despite the fact that the country has left the EU.

The winners were selected from a total of 250 applications submitted by civil society organisations, individuals and private companies.