Prime Minister Robert Abela’s administration and leadership have been characterised by the increased importance, value and priority given to social dialogue. This proved crucial during the pandemic and remained central to our government’s efforts thereafter, when facing the difficult challenges brought by the war in Europe.

If we really want to create new opportunities and deliver a fairer society, we must actively listen to every single person’s aspirations because, in order to overcome the challenges we face in a world struggling with significant pressures, we must consult everyone.

And if we truly want our country to keep moving forward, we must involve the different segments of our society in the decision-making process, especially youths. Their energy, their readiness to challenge the status quo and their vision for the short- and long-term future are all qualities that our government values and respects. And it’s precisely this which led to the setting up of the Youth Advisory Forum.

This forum is a platform in which a group of youths, chosen through a public call, will regularly meet with the prime minister and cabinet members to discuss matters of national importance such as climate change, infrastructure, education, research and innovation.

This way, the government is ensuring that youths are given the opportunity to influence the critical decisions that affect their present and their future. Not only theirs but also, more broadly, that of our nation of which we are so proud.

This forum will add to the consultative process which we, as a government, already carry out with youth organisations. However, it will be a game changer because of its direct access to the prime minister and the cabinet. In addition, the government and the parliamentary secretariat I lead will continue to work closely with other official bodies such as Kunsill Nazzjonali taż-Żgħażagħ, Aġenzija Żgħażagħ and Il-Parlament taż-Żgħażagħ which have been expressing youths’ opinions for years.

Our youths have a solid future in Malta- Keith Azzopardi Tanti

After all, we have, time and time again, shown that this is a government that genuinely believes in youths and the young generation of our country. The right to vote at 16 clearly attests to this. But not only: we are increasing investment in our educational institutions that offer the right environment for our youths to reach their potential and we also strengthened our scholarship programmes and made our stipend system fairer, even including those who work and study.

We introduced unprecedented help to assist first-time buyers in becoming homeowners. In terms of employment, youths in Malta are building careers in the gaming sector, the financial sector, professional services and ICT. Malta is also providing the right environment for start-ups and exploring further how we can deliver a fairer and more prosperous future for our youths. 

One thing is for certain: our youths have a solid future in Malta.

We believe that and I am sure that our youths do so as well.

I regularly meet with so many young people in every sector of society and I am always impressed with their energy and capabilities. I also admire how they dream big for themselves and their country. I always encourage them to study and work overseas for some time so that when they return to Malta both themselves and the country will benefit from the experience they gained.

This is happening consistently and continuously as, contrary to what the opposition claims, in recent years we’ve seen more Maltese youths returning to Malta after living and working overseas than Maltese youths leaving the country.

This wasn’t the case during the last PN administration and we know why: today we have a vibrant economy and Malta is a country full of opportunities. However, we want to develop and hone those opportunities further in parallel with our country’s broader priorities and that’s where the young generation plays a crucial role.

I urge all youths to apply on primministru.gov.mt.

Keith Azzopardi Tanti is Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Research and Innovation.