As the national coordinator for the European Year for Development 2015 (EYD2015), the Malta-EU Steering and Action Committee (MEUSAC), on February 25, organised the first major public event for this year – a half-day conference on development education targeted at educators, academics, experts and representatives of Non-Governmental Development Organisations (NGDOs).

In his introductory speech, MEUSAC Head Vanni Xuereb said that MEUSAC’s objective as national coordinator of the EYD2015 in Malta is to implement a work programme aimed at achieving a broader understanding and awareness on the European Union’s (EU) role in development cooperation whilst invoking the EU citizens’ sense of joint responsibility and active participation in development cooperation.

Dr Xuereb stated that the EYD2015 is an unparalleled opportunity for the EU, as the largest donor of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) in the world, to highlight its commitment to eradicating poverty worldwide and to inspire more Europeans to be engaged and involved in development.

The conference was also addressed by Mr Jonathan Galea, Director-General Global Issues, International Development and Economic Affairs, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, who said that development is about ‘helping others to help themselves’. In this regard, since Malta joined the EU in 2004, a clearer perspective on development has evolved and a lot has been done with numerous projects implemented around the world in developing countries. Children and educators are key players in this endeavour.

In his presentation, Mr Stefano Moncada, Assistant Lecturer in the Development of Economics and European Studies in the Institute for European Studies of the University of Malta, gave a detailed overview of concepts and current issues in development as a key dimension of personal life, social relations, politics, economics and culture. Mr Moncada also spoke of the challenges for the EU in development cooperation and assistance, among which: to make development policy more coherent with other policies like trade and agriculture; the need for more synergy between EU delegations in developing countries vis-à-vis the Member States; to promote community-based and context specific development, as the EU sometimes focuses more on big infrastructural projects with governments, rather than on community-based projects; to increase ODA resources as the amount of ODA is still low compared to the needs of developing countries.

Mr William Grech, Chairperson of Solidarjetà u Koperazzjoni (SKOP) spoke of development education as an active learning process founded on the values of solidarity, equality, inclusion and cooperation. Mr Grech spoke of how educational systems need to engage not only with the realities of global inequalities, but also with the systems which sustain these inequalities, to bring about real change for a just and sustainable world. This process can only be effective through a rights-based approach focusing on the results to be achieved. For Mr Grech, development education in Malta needs to keep growing in both the formal and non-formal educational sectors.

During the conference, participants had the opportunity to take part in four workshops themed:

• Being development-oriented in practice – discussing measures such as fair trade initiatives through which local communities become more development-oriented.
• Diversity and multiculturalism – addressing negative attitudes to cultural integration within local communities.
• Food security – educating the local communities especially the younger generations on the issue of food security, reflecting on possible measures that can be implemented in local communities.
• Water as an essential resource for development – emphasising the need for responsible water use in a country with limited water resources.

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During the panel discussion that followed, participants discussed some of the outcomes of the workshops, namely: the importance of extra-curricular activities involving the wider community; the contrasting messages that children may be getting between the classroom and their homes; moving from exam-oriented schools to class communities that practise real integration; actions taken by the students themselves that can actually make a difference in their schools and communities.

Throughout this year, MEUSAC hopes to bring on board various stakeholders including Ministries, NGOs, local councils, private enterprises, academia and the general public to discuss and to take part in the EYD2015 activities. The half-day conference will be followed by a Youth Debate on March 6, at the University Campus, entitled ‘Reaching Out to Girls Today, Empowering Women Tomorrow’. The debate is intended to engage the younger generation in an active discussion and debate with policy makers on the role of girls and women in development.

In his concluding remarks, the Head of MEUSAC expressed his hope that the European Year would contribute to a long term shift in attitudes that will enhance Malta’s development policy as well as that of the EU by engaging future generations in a bid to dream of and contribute, though personal life choices and engagement, towards a better world where all human persons and peoples can participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realised, as stated in the 1986 United Nations General Assembly Declaration on the Right to Development.

For further information about MEUSAC one may visit https://europa.eu/eyd2015 and www.facebook.com/meusacmalta. Inforamtiona about the European Year for Development 2015 may be found at https://europa.eu/eyd2015 and www.facebook.com/EuropeanYearForDevelopment2015.