President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca visited the start of construction works of the Spark Project by The President’s Trust, in Pretty Bay, Birżebbuġa.
Director of The President’s Trust Sarah Borda Bondin explained that ‘Spark’ is the name of a project given by young people who are participating in The President’s Trust youth empowerment project in Birżebbuġa. The name originated from several young persons who practice skateboarding and ride bicycles on the streets of Birżebbuġa. These young persons approached their youth workers from Aġenzija Żgħażagħ with a dream of having a safe and suitable space to practice their hobby.
The President said that the skatepark was designed on the ideas of these young persons who were participants throughout the entire process of this project.
The President’s Trust is carrying out this project together with the active involvement of the Birżebbuġa Local Council and Aġenzija Żgħażagħ. Through this collaboration, this dream is today becoming a reality.
“This is the way that The President’s Trust operates, bringing people together to work on projects aimed at empowering young people at community level” the President explained, adding that she looks forward to seeing the space currently being developed into a skate park becoming a space where the youths of the southern region of Malta will have the opportunity to meet, dialogue, develop, and consolidate new friendships whilst growing together.
“This is not just an infrastructural investment but also a social investment, bringing youths together in a safe space to grow and mature together”, the President added.
The President’s Trust, which for the past two years has been focusing on empowering young persons to take charge of their lives, believes that this safe space will enable young persons to become active citizens. The skatepark is planned to reach out to young persons, empowering them to express themselves, and develop their skills.
Ms Borda Bondin said that the construction of the skatepark would not have been possible without the financial support and works in kind from several companies and contractors mainly from the area. This has given the initiative a corporate social responsibility framework, said Sarah Borda Bondin, adding that The President’s Trust is also grateful for the support of CORE platform, the Ministry for Tourism, and several other sponsors.