Żgħażagħ Azzjoni Kattolika (ŻAK), the youth branch of the Maltese Catholic Action, recently hosted a team of data collectors from the Italian, Romanian and Spanish Catholic Action.
The data collectors were provided with training as a part of a three-year strategic partnership research project.
The Supporting Volunteers in Youth Organisations (SVYO) project aims at discovering underlying issues regarding the long-term commitment of young volunteers in the four youth organisations. During the training, the data collectors got to know each other better, discovered and became more acquainted with the project and its aims, and were given theoretical and practical information regarding research, data collection methods and ethical issues associated with data collection.
ŻAK members and data collectors Roderick Borg and Dawn Powell said the training was not only “informative and useful” in order to collect data accurately and provide the best results, but it also served as a reminder that when working with young people, one must keep in mind their needs and, therefore, listen to them.
They added that they are very excited to be part of this project, which is addressing a very common challenge for organisations, and explained that it is very important for organisations to reflect frequently on the needs of their young members and keep them at the forefront, as this project is doing.
Bishop Joseph Galea-Curmi, who spent some time with the data collectors, listening and discussing with them, said that the work they are doing is important, even for the Church.
He explained that good communication requires the willingness to listen to and understand people. Although this can be a challenge, especially when working with young people, it can lead to making them feel loved and appreciated while helping them live a meaningful life. Mgr Galea-Curmi went on to suggest that the Church’s mission, including in Malta, should be to listen to the people.
He invited Catholic Action and all those who provide a service for the Church to organise more opportunities to simply listen to what young people and children have to say.
The SVYO project is co-funded by the EU in the framework of Erasmusplus programme and is running from March 1, 2021, to August 31, 2023. The study will be made available to the public at the end of the project.
Franziska Grech is a youth leader with Żgħażagħ Azzjoni Kattolika (ŻAK) Malta.