As far as I can tell, there is hardly any presence of youth speakers at the State of the Nation conference being organised by President Vella this weekend.
Young people, including children should also be present on the discussion panels, especially those who have been actively involved in the drafting of the Children’s Manifesto which was launched two years ago. We can’t discuss the state of the nation of Malta, without looking towards the future. And we can only look towards the future, if we do it together with our children and youth.
We can only look towards the future, if we do it together with our children and youth.
The previous president, Marie Louise Coleiro Preca is very involved in the discussions around Children’s Rights in Europe. I was pleased to interact with her on some occasions in 2019 when she for example organised a conference on unaccompanied youth migrants (photo below). Through the President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society (now the Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society (MFWS) she had also hosted two panels with children who could ask questions to a number of MEP candidates, including myself.
Unlike Vella, Coleiro Preca had also organised meetings to listen to various stakeholders on the constitution. Where myself and Carmel Cacopardo for example had presented a number of points regarding constitutional reform. Including the need to ensure that Chapter II principles become enforceable and do not remain mere fluff, as reported also this week in the press.
The point here is not to compare two presidents, they each have their faults. But women’s leadership is on my mind, as Sandra Gauci has just been elected as Chairperson of ADPD last Saturday. Some men in Malta have a harder time taking children and their ideas seriously. They can be patronising, demeaning, and dismissive. While some of the women I have met in politics have sat down and had open and honest conversations with these young people.
Including at this week’s conference on Menstruation Stigma (see photo) organised by the Human Rights Directorate and hosted by Parliamentary Secretary on Reforms Rebecca Buttiġieg. A 12-year old girl, Anja Dimitrijevic was on the panel with me to talk about education on periods in schools and society. It was refreshing.
If things keep going the way they are, how many trees will be left for them to seek shade under, while the heat of the world rises?
So when it comes to the state of the nation, only a narrow and polished view will be presented, by the same old faces. The fresh and new perspectives of children growing up in a Malta that does not respect their rights, listen to them, offer them green spaces for play, and requires them to be subjected to noise and air pollution every day. If things keep going the way they are, how many trees will be left for them to seek shade under, while the heat of the world rises?
MJ Tolu 
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