At the closing conference of the Learning-Exchanging-Integrating project with the theme ‘Looking back. Looking forward’, the results achieved by this project co-financed by the European Union under the Asylum, Migration and Integration (AMIF) funds were presented.
In fact, during this conference it was announced that through the ‘I Belong’ program, which is part of the Learning-Exchanging-Integrating project, more than 4000 people were trained in the Maltese language, English and even local culture, which program was an integral part of the implementation of the First Strategy and National Action Plan on Integration. This program, which started in March 2018, was given at three different levels, in collaboration with MCAST, the University of Malta, and by the Department for lifelong learning.
Present for this conference was the Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms and Equality Rebecca Buttigieg, who in her speech stressed the importance of outreach not only with foreigners but also with the rest of the population, in order everyone feels welcome and heard. Parliamentary Secretary Buttigieg pointed out the importance of the role that one has in order to better understand how even among the communities there is great diversity and intersectional identities, and therefore it is necessary that the services provided hit these different needs as soon as there is room for a common approach for all. She also emphasized the importance of education in order to further strengthen integration in our country.
“As a government we firmly believe that education is essential in order to strengthen integration. The more time passes, the more we are realizing how much the world is becoming one and global village and therefore in order to continue to strengthen our work in favor of integration, I invite everyone to contribute ideas and proposals in the Public Consultation for the Second Strategy and Action Plan on Integration currently underway and open until the end of June. Our ultimate goal is to have a more equal and prosperous society,” said Buttigieg.
Mr. Alexander Tortell from the Directorate for Human Rights explained how during this project several information sessions were organized on various themes that are of interest to the Directorate’s clients. , including documentation, access to education, sexual and reproductive health, and many other themes. He also mentioned that the Directorate of Human Rights together with the University of Malta developed and offered the first Diploma in Education for Cultural Mediation, i.e. professional training for cultural mediators, who are so needed in an intercultural context such as our country.
Photos: MHSR_PS