Malta does not need any more tourist complexes and concrete, NGO Graffitti says, as it hopes for fewer environmental illegalities and fewer projects which threaten the health and quality of life of residents in Malta.
The Malta Independent on Sunday sought the views of a number on NGOs as 2024 promises to be another year of challenges for them as they take on more resourceful and financially-strong “big guns”.
From proposing policies to championing environmental and social causes, their commitment remains steadfast.
Moviment Graffiti
“We would like the government to prioritise justice and the benefit of the greater good,” said spokesperson for the NGO Angele Deguara.
“This means we would like to see fewer environmental illegalities, (and fewer) projects which threaten the health and quality of life of residents and developments which serve nobody but the filthy rich. We do not need more massive tourist complexes and concrete. Construction has taken over every corner of the island. Our towns, villages, shores and sparse green areas are under threat and the government does not seem to acknowledge that this is causing great harm to our physical and mental wellbeing”.
The NGO is also urging the government to prioritise women and minorities.
“Social and cultural factors still threaten the lives of many individuals in Malta. How many more women need to get murdered by men? With over 2,000 pending cases of domestic violence, we believe that our system needs to be doing far better to fight the threats that so many women are facing.”
In one of its latest protests for 2023, the civil society brought to the nation’s attention the plight of ficus trees in the heart of Mosta after the local council had initially sought their displacement.
In this regard, the NGO said that “We hope to see civil society resisting injustice as we have recently seen with the case of the ficus trees in Mosta. The collective effort (on that occasion) shows the power that the community has when it comes together to fight against decisions that do not serve the public good. And we hope to see local councils and authorities serving citizens and residents, not taking shameful decisions that impact our air and environment.”
Moviment Graffitti continues to condemn, what a court of law has described as the fraudulent deal between the government and Vitals and Steward Healthcare for the transfer of three public hospitals to be run by the private sector, an agreement that has now been rescinded.
“There should be no place for such corrupt, dangerous deals. For a democracy to function, masterminds behind such deals should face criminal prosecution and no healthcare system should ever be jeopardised in this way.”
On current and future challenges it faces, the NGO hopes to see more citizens, workers, residents and minorities coming together, supporting each other’s causes “and resisting the wrong decisions taken by those who should be safeguarding them.”
Din l-Art Helwa
Executive president of Din l-Art Helwa Alex Torpiano said that the most positive outcome last year was the extension of the NGO’s Guardianship Agreements.
“We also made significant progress on the Guardianship of the Chapel of San Cir, even if we had hoped to conclude it earlier”.
However, the NGO noted how it did not see significant progress in government making the necessary changes in the way planning decisions are taken, changes which are necessary in order to ensure the preservation of the quality of urban space and of landscape.
“We still need to depend on considerable effort by eNGOs and volunteers to address proposals for development which are clearly inappropriate. We still have to depend on the Courts. We still need to mobilise the public.”
On its hopes list, the NGO said that it wants to see changes in the economic model which depends on an expanding demography and which supports (and effectively subsidises) a construction industry growing out of control.
Nature Trust Malta
Nature trust president Vincent Attard said that Nature Trust in 2023 worked mostly on the completion of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre co-financed under the EU ERDF funding programme.
He said that the project proved very challenging, “hitting problems with a few of the contractors involved.”
However, Nature Trust has found support from the Ministry for the Environment and Ambjent Malta. The rehab centre was officially launched towards the end of November 2023, placing the Maltese Islands on the map of wildlife rehab centres across the world.
The lack of law enforcement in environmental issues was also a concern for the NGO in 2023. Its concern also continued to grow as more natural places are constantly being built and more mature trees are being cut down “all in the name of progress”.
Another challenge NTM faced was the finances to support its staff in ecological important sites. NTM has been lobbying for government to pour more corporate donations to ENGOs, free of taxes. In this way, funds can go directly “into the preservation of our natural heritage and finding qualified staff to maintain them.”
NTM would also have liked to see a more national focus on Sustainable Development “rather than just an economic focus model we have at the moment.”
The NGO said that it would like to be included more in the country’s agenda from the authorities’ side. It is also advocating for more protection “on the little remaining natural areas, more conservation measures for the protection of our Natura 2000 sites and Marine Protective Areas.”
It is also advocating for the public side to act more responsibility towards the environment and to do their part on national issues like littering and dumping, pollution, waste management.
“We need to control overdevelopment, find solutions for sustainable mobility, focus more on conserving the remaining natural green open spaces together with the coast and focus on climate change issues to ensure future generations the benefit of a better environment”.
Aġenzija Żgħażagħ
Agenzija zghazagh CEO Miriam Teuma said that during 2023, the implementation of the national youth policy, Towards 2030 - Reaching out to, working with and supporting young people, gathered increased pace and momentum.
Towards 2030 sets out eight strategic goals and accompanying actions that will be implemented over the period 2021-2030. The third year of implementing the policy, 2023, saw the development of a number of new initiatives, collaborative cross-sectoral projects as well as the expansion of existing programmes and services.
The increasing and widening range and reach of the national youth policy is increasingly evident. In 2023 alone, young people in Malta on over 45,000 occasions directly participated in or benefited from Aġenzija Żgħażagħ' s programmes, projects, initiatives, facilities and services, in addition to the 1.5m visits to its online platforms in search of information, services and other supports.
The implementation of the national youth policy is also becoming more inclusive. Aġenzija Żgħażagħ' s programmes, projects, and initiatives are addressing the needs and aspirations of more young people from different backgrounds. A wide range of programmes, projects and initiatives in the visual arts, music, literature, photography, broadcasting, film-making, lifestyles, composition, entrepreneurship, environment, citizenship, sport, financial literacy, and social media, are underway in a wide variety of settings - youth activity centres, youth cafes, the youth village, schools and other educational institutions, community centres, on the street and online - for the benefit and support of aspiring young artists, young entrepreneurs, young environmentalists, young people with disabilities, LGBTIQ young people, and socially-excluded young people.
Another development of note is an increasingly cross-sectoral approach. One of Towards 2030's strategic goals is to ensure effective coordination and cohesion in the implementation of the national youth policy and maximise its potential for supporting young people. Aġenzija Żgħażagħ is working effectively and creatively with a wide range of government ministries and entities, NGOs and other organisations resulting in cooperative efforts that involve and benefit young people.
Aġenzija Żgħażagħ's ongoing research programme facilitated the publication in 2023 of Mirrors and Windows 3 - Maltese Young People's perceptions of themselves, their families, communities and society, which marked the 10th anniversary of the agency's first research publication in the Mirrors and Windows series.
While a cross-sectoral approach in addressing young people's needs and aspirations is strengthening, greater cooperation and cohesion between ministries and state bodies is needed in the coming years. Ministries and state bodies also need to enhance support for the voluntary youth sector and to proactively engage with them.
Further expanding the capacity of the youth sector in Malta will continue to be a priority given the immense challenges that young people face across a broad spectrum ranging from the impact of the war in Ukraine to the advent of AI.
“2024 will also be a year of preparation with the commencement of the mid-term review and evaluation of the national youth policy and Malta's chairmanship of the Council of Europe in the first half of 2025, which will witness an important meeting of EU youth ministers in Malta and a European wide symposium on the European Youth Work Agenda which will be hosted by Aġenzija Żgħażagħ,“ she said.