The launching this week by the Ministry for Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector of the ACTIVATE project is yet another notable milestone in Malta’s relentless pursuit of a fairer and more inclusive society. It takes an even grander turn when one considers the fact the project is the result of a partnership between six major organisations from across Europe, with Malta entrusted with both its visibility and communication.

Co-financed by the European Union under the ERASMUS+ programme to the tune of a quarter of a million euros, the project is aimed at strengthening the representation of young people with autism through a network of European schools where they will be helped to develop skills and acquire knowledge to defend their rights and needs.

It was highly significant that this initiative to make the voices of young, autistic men and women heard across the continent was set off with a conference actually organised by persons with autism for people with autism – the first of its kind in Malta and Europe.

The chairperson of the Autism Advisory Council, Alistair de Gaetano, himself on the autism spectrum, rightly emphasised the need for people with autism to be urged to move forward and to be given the necessary tools to achieve their targets. The emphasis, in her address to the conference, on the maxim of ‘Nothing about us without us’, is confirmation of how people with autism can and will do things for themselves, such as getting EU funds to be in a better position to work with different authorities in achieving their goals.

This European initiative unfolding in Malta will see schools within the ACTIVATE project offering a specialised curriculum that includes an explanation of autism and its impact and the development of communication and social skills. In this way, the voices of young people with autism will become stronger and a compelling influence on the policies and practices around them in the countries they live in.

The six organisations that form part of this joint initiative are DDI (the Directorate for Disability Issues, Malta), entrusted with the running and coordination of the project, KU Leuven (Belgium) to carry out research of the best teaching practices for persons on the autism spectrum, IMPACTsci (Portugal) to draft a curriculum and tap teaching resources, EUCAP (Czechia) to organise training workshops for academy teachers; APVA (Portugal) to focus on online content, and CRPD (Malta) to take responsibility for the project’s visibility and communication.

The project is the result of a partnership between six major European organisations- Julia Farrugia

Giving our autistic youth a stronger voice in everyday affairs that affect their lives and those of their families will help in the unceasing formation of a just and inclusive society in Malta and the rest of Europe. We know that, given the right opportunities to understand themselves better and to defend their rights whenever and wherever they are required to do so, persons with autism can move ahead with irrefutable determination and conviction.

Our role as protagonists and partners in this unique European initiative is a perpetuation of a policy that we are proud of, that of making sure the rights of persons with disabilities are strengthened through the tailored legislation and policies we have advocated in the past few years. We seek to build on what has been achieved in the form of concrete successes in the sector, while still ensuring no one is overlooked; more so in the case of young men and women with so much to offer to society.

The emergent ACTIVATE project has seen an early hive of activity, what with the holding of the National Autism Conference 2025, the completion of the research phase, the direct involvement in the project of young persons with autism and their trainers, the creation of an official website, www.neuroadvocacy.eu, as well as the production of five information videos promoting the ACTIVATE project on the CRPD YouTube channel and other social media platforms.

The stronger voices of our young people with autism can now harmonise to form the ideal chorus that will guide us to better achievements while we continue to implement our electoral pledges.

Julia Farrugia

Julia Farrugia is Minister for Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector.