The government’s free gym for youths scheme will be extended to allow those who have already used it and who remain within the age ranges of the scheme to re-apply for it, Prime Minister Robert Abela announced on Sunday.

Speaking in a Labour Party activity, Abela said that while the government had extended the age range for this scheme – which allows youths to apply for a free six-month gym membership – from the ages of 18 to 20 to the ages of 16 to 21, those who had already enjoyed the scheme’s benefits could not re-apply for it.

“We have a strong economy and we can invest,” Abela said, as he shared that this would be changing and those who had already applied for the scheme could soon re-apply to take advantage of it again, as long as they remain within the 16 to 21 years of age bracket.

Abela also said that the government would be looking into expanding this scheme to older age brackets and to those who may need to attend a gym for medical reasons, adding that the measure has “enormous potential.”

Abela was speaking in a discussion program on party media which included the participation of a number of teenagers of varying ages.

The discussion centred on various topics relating to these youths, namely homework, sports, and the use of social media.

On homework, there was something of a mixed opinion among the teenagers present: some believed it is very important as it allows for children to learn to be responsible, but others felt it shouldn’t be so hard and time consuming to the point that it stops children from having other extra-curricular activities.

On the topic, Abela said that he does not believe that homework should be removed completely – but he said that he also believes that homework should be taking up all of children’s hours from when they arrive home from school to when they go to bed.

“There has to be balance to keep in mind sports, going to grandparents, spending time with parents, and other interests,” he said.

He also said that he believes in diversity in the work given to children: writing is important, the Prime Minister said, but reading and literacy is also equally important, and there is strong enthusiasm for physical books.

Sports was a significant topic throughout the discussion, with children particularly concerned about having the time to practice extra-curriculars such as different sports and having enough Physical Education (PE) lessons during school hours.

Abela said that he fully believes that schools should have a PE lesson every day, and appreciated the effort from schools and teachers who do implement this. “Physical activity is not secondary to academic subjects – it’s equal and that’s where we need to change the mentality,” Abela said.

“The mentality from back then was to sacrifice PE for something because it was seen as less important,” he said, as he referred to a remark by one teenager who said some minutes prior that this was his experience at school.

Abela also said that there is no sport which is “secondary”, referring to the recently inaugurated major investment of a multidisciplinary facility at the Marsa Sports Complex and to talks going on to identify an adequate area for Obstacle Course Racing (OCR).

“Someone asked me whether it’s possible for Malta to ever get an Olympic medal – and I say, absolutely, why not? With enough investment, there is no reason why we cannot,” he said.

Technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) and social media, was also discussed during the activity.

Abela said that AI “is today, not a subject of the future” and that this is something he sees in practice in many workplaces.

The teenagers taking part in the discussion said that AI can be a double-edged sword: one girl said that ChatGPT, for instance, can help her understand certain things she might not have fully understood in class, but said that on the other hand some of her friends also simply ask ChatGPT to do their homework for them, which isn’t good.

Abela added that a joint meeting between the Youth Advisory Forum and Youth Parliament had discussed AI deepfakes and had resulted in the government, through the Justice Ministry, examining the country’s laws and how they deal with and legislate on this “ugly reality.”

Speaking about social media, he said that it’s a difficult but thematic discussion.

“We aren’t going down the road of prohibiting social media usage, but I believe we need to go towards directing some control,” he said.

Abela said that the decision by some countries to prohibit social media usage outright is extreme, but said that there need to be some limitations.

“There are age limits on platforms but there are a thousand ways to get around them.  We are doing this exercise to prohibit those younger than 13 from certain platforms.  The final product has to be balanced.  To be draconian will not go down well with society, but I think parents want some sort of control,” he said.

He added that there have been around 60 submissions on the social media reform so far.

The CEO of the Malta Digital Innovation Authority Kenneth Brincat, the Head of the Gudja Primary School Marion Falzon Ghio, the President of the Athletics Association Mario Bonello, Psychotherapist and Parent Coach Daniela Farrugia Camoin, and eSports worker Aaron Debattista also participated in the discussion.