“Enhancing child and adolescent wellbeing and preventing violence in schools and early childhood settings”
Distinguished guests
Dear friends
It is an honour to have been invited to speak about the work of my Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society, at the start of this important conference on child and adolescent wellbeing.
The President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society was brought into being on the 23 June, 2014.
Through the activities of my Foundation, we have, in a short time, met with thousands of people.
We have entered into sustained and deepening consultation with communities and groups, across the Maltese Islands, and beyond.
The Foundation’s ethos is rooted in our dedication to nurturing wellbeing through processes of inclusion and participation.
All our efforts, to explore and cultivate wellbeing in society, are measured against this ambitious benchmark.
Our drive towards innovation, alongside our commitment to receiving and acting upon feedback, has meant that the Foundation’s methods and project portfolio are in a constant state of creative development.
The willingness to grow and to improve our initiatives was at the heart of our second year anniversary celebration, held a few weeks ago.
Various participants, from across civil society, were asked to reflect on the Foundation’s methodology, and share their vision for the future of our work.
A recurring message, throughout our anniversary consultation, was the beneficial quality of the encounters that participants experience in the safe and respectful spaces created by the Foundation.
Indeed, our ethos of wellbeing is the consistent message we bring to all the individuals, the organisations, and the communities we meet.
Our message is simple, but profound.
The voice of each and every member of society is valid, it is vital, and it has a dynamic role to play in strengthening the wellbeing of all humanity.
It is by celebrating the particularities of our identities, seen through the lens of age, of gender, of sexual orientation, of ethnicity, of socio-economic status, of faith tradition and culture, that we will be able to continue our work.
It is by honouring our differences, while exploring areas of mutual concern, that we are connecting with people, across society.
With these aims in mind, the Foundation has facilitated the creation of two NGO platforms that unite different groups to work together for common goals.
One of these platforms has created a respectful space for NGOs working in the area of mental health; the other brings together NGOs led by asylum seekers and refugee groups.
Through the work of the Refugee NGOs-Led Platform, vulnerable communities have met with representatives from Malta’s trade unions and the Maltese media.
Important conversations have taken place, which seek to change the way asylum seekers and refugees are perceived; the kind of treatment they receive; and the ways they are empowered to access their rights.
Our work has also taken us, on many occasions, beyond the shores of my country.
Through the President’s Foundation, an International Institute for Peace and Wellbeing has been formed, with the aim of promoting its core values throughout the Mediterranean and beyond.
It is thanks to this Institute, and our collaborators from MEDAC at the University of Malta, George Mason University in the United States, the University of Cambridge and the University of Warwick in the UK, UNESCO, ISESCO, and others, that we shall continue to share our message in ever far-reaching ways.
Our work has seen us enter into agreements with a variety of groups and organisations.
Working with one of Malta’s institutes of higher learning, and through the Institute for Peace and Wellbeing, we are currently engaged in a project entitled Sanctuary.
The project shall transform portions of San Anton Presidential Palace into areas of conservation and cultivation, for the promotion of environmental heritage, and to sustain vulnerable communities.
The Sanctuary Project is being carried out in collaboration with several embassies, and here I must mention Her Excellency Jane Lambert, Australian High Commissioner to Malta and an alumna of this university.
Her constant support of my Foundation’s initiatives has been a clear reflection of the excellent friendship, and the shared ideals, that exist between our nations.
Let me now describe, in a little more detail, the structure of my Foundation.
The two pillars on which the Foundation stands are its consultative Fora and Research Entities.
It is thanks to the work of the fora team that my Foundation has entered into consultation with a variety of communities and groups.
Consultations are held under the care of our fora chairpersons, each of whom is an expert in their respective area.
The fora tackle issues that include childhood, community life, disability, interfaith encounters, transcultural inclusion, and intergenerational dialogue.
We engage with the different concerns of particular groups, while also learning what people think about the concept of wellbeing itself.
In this way, we have realised that certain key themes emerge time and again.
These are the role of stable relationships; the need for sustainable healthcare; the crucial importance of adequate income; and the priority that people give, from all walks of life, to the preservation and the conservation of the natural environment.
It is through the Foundation’s Research Entities that the consultations carried out within these fora, are translated into scholarly research.
A committed team of academics and practitioners transform the fora’s popular and civic wisdom into a source of academic knowledge.
It is this knowledge, rooted in the lived experiences and aspirations of the people, that motivates the Foundation’s various research projects.
These projects are then published and shared with academia, civil society, and government officials.
In this way, the Foundation’s research provides a powerful tool for the development of policy and strategic planning at both community and national level.
In order for this information to be a valuable resource, we are mindful of our responsibility towards present and future generations.
There appears to be a growing disparity between the ways older and younger generations live their lives — their perceived values, and interactions with the world.
It is therefore imperative that we include the voices of children and young people throughout our work.
The Foundation continues to explore ways of securing the effective involvement of children and young people in consultation and decision-making.
It is only by respecting this participation that our research, policies, and practices will accurately reflect the experiences of children and young people in society.
This goal was a primary objective behind last year’s first National Conference on Child Wellbeing, facilitated by the Foundation.
The conference included interventions by academics from the University of Malta, Dublin City University in Ireland, and Flinders’ own Professor Philip Slee.
The conference was unique in Malta for the way it prioritised the active participation of children, by tackling issues of bullying from a child’s perspective approach.
Just as in the Foundation’s Child Forum consultations, during this conference it became clear that a focus on relationships, health, and adequate income are all key factors in the experience of wellbeing for children and young people.
Furthermore, the conference set an example of good practice by mainstreaming child participation at a high level of engagement.
Through this conference, it was confirmed that bullying can never be dismissed as harmless, or as an unavoidable part of childhood and adolescence.
As we all know, bullying has the power to disrupt lives.
It damages the very fabric of our communities.
Since coming to the Presidency, I have embarked on a systematic programme of visits to schools in Malta and Gozo.
The aim of my visits is to create a child-friendly space for dialogue, where children are able to be frank during their conversations with me.
One common issue that arises at nearly every meeting is the problem of bullying.
Bullying is a predominant concern among our children and young people.
Children speak of different forms of bullying, including physical harm, verbal abuse, and forced isolation.
I have noticed, during my visits, that children who attend schools with a functioning anti-bullying policy seem to fare much better.
They feel more able to reach out and speak up about their concerns.
They are more resilient; they are better able to understand and access their rights; and they feel encouraged and empowered to take action on behalf of their peers.
I would now like to share a video with you from this National Child Wellbeing Conference on bullying, which highlights some of the information presented by participants.
Throughout the conference, and in all the Foundation’s work with young people, we strive to promote child and adolescent wellbeing through participatory rights.
We are committed to creating spaces where children can put forward their aspirations; where children can be made visible; and also to be acknowledged in their dignity.
This October shall see the National Conference on Child Wellbeing return, to explore issues of access to justice for vulnerable children.
Once again, children will participate in an integrated way, along with an international panel of experts.
It is thanks to our commitment to securing child participation that the Foundation has developed other opportunities for the empowerment of children.
These include an innovative pedagogy called the President’s Secret Garden.
The President’s Secret Garden was developed following consultation with children, where they expressed a lack of access to green and open spaces.
In response, we have built a child-centred community of learning, active throughout Malta and Gozo.
By prioritising education for peace, for sustainable development, and above all the participative inclusion of children, the Secret Garden is both a method and a means of promoting the social, emotional, and environmental wellbeing of the child.
The President’s Secret Garden concluded its second edition last month, and has led to the establishment of a Child and Young Person’s Council.
This Council will be a consultative body that will have a direct impact on the way the research and projects of the Foundation are carried out in the future.
The Secret Garden itself offers a sustainable way of giving children access to their wellbeing, encouraging them to speak up for themselves, to foster confidence and resilience.
The Secret Garden’s methodology will soon be available as a toolkit and training programme, accessible to both national and international stakeholders.
It is this same concern for child wellbeing that motivated my Foundation to promote the creation of a Commonwealth Child Forum, at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in Malta last year.
We remain committed to seeing such a forum come about, providing a means to engage with children from all over the Commonwealth.
Our other upcoming initiatives include an international roundtable on missing asylum-seeking children in Europe, which is scheduled to take place next year, and a high-level conference addressing the abolition of corporal punishment in 2018.
At this conference, we shall share the message that violence inflicted on children, especially where it is excused or silenced by custom or convention, is never acceptable.
It is our global responsibility to address the scourge of violence against children, wherever and whenever, it appears in our communities and societies.
This must include a strong focus on the problem of hate speech; of bullying; and of social exclusion.
These continue to have harmful and long-term effects on our children and young people, especially those who are already vulnerable.
If we are to achieve a positive change in the lives of young people, then we must encourage a culture where reflecting on issues of wellbeing begins at a young age.
Awareness provides an essential component to strengthen our strategies of active citizenship.
In this way, we will empower every child to consider and act upon the sources and hinderances of their own wellbeing within society.
Alongside the mandate of our ethos, my Foundation is guided in its work by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
To secure sustainable wellbeing for all, we must make use of the opportunity these Goals provide.
We must use the SDGs as an opportunity to take a critical and reflective look at society.
In particular, we must challenge the underlying structures that perpetuate discrimination and inequalities, to the direct detriment of wellbeing.
My Foundation remains steadfast in its efforts to confront the way these structures operate within society.
We must challenge the way these structures silence certain voices, and harm vulnerable communities.
In response to these challenges we have created, and shall continue to create, respectful and dignified spaces where every individual is celebrated and honoured in the truth they share.
In conclusion, we must be willing to enter into challenging conversations with one another, because of our diversity.
Diversity enriches us, rather than diminishes us, when we include others, even those with very different perspectives.
We must be open to the contributions of our children and young people, particularly when their interventions challenge our long-standing assumptions.
We must continue to dedicate ourselves to the work of wellbeing.
We must make the full participation of our children and young people central to our work.
Only then can we achieve sustainable strategies for the fruitful transformation, and the lasting benefit, of our communities, our societies, and our nations.
Thank you.