Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1050749
27 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 NOVEMBER 2018 Evarist Bartolo Our greatest accomplishment Evarist Bartolo is Minister for Education and Employment A report by the BBC this week described how three paralysed men who were told they would spend the rest of their lives in a wheelchair were able to walk again after an innovative procedure. Doctors in Switzerland inserted an electrical device around the men's spines which boosted signals from their brains to their legs, helping the damaged nerves in the spinal cord to regrow. Researchers and doctors from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne said this procedure could help many others to regain independent movement. The implant needs to be 'on' for the men to walk and the report talks about how they not only restored their movement, but also their hope. The moon landing is of- ten described as humanity's greatest accomplishment and in many ways it is true. But such stories from Switzerland make me question it, because in the past hundred years the achievements we have made as humans are sometimes more relevant in sci-fi books than real life. Our ability to conquer dis- eases and understand so much more the way the human be- ing works is astounding. With social media and constant news we often get the idea that everything is going wrong in the world. But in truth, poverty is at an all-time low on a global level and so is crime. Major out- breaks are also low and have been contained. There has never been so many people be- ing educated and graduating. So, yes, perhaps not every- thing is as it should be. In- equality is still high. But con- sidering where we were just a few decades ago, progress has been achieved. A lot of the progress achieved is down to good policies, im- proved economic outlooks, a decrease in inequality and also scientific achievements. Especially in stories such as these three brave men, science and reasoned thinking is what has allowed us to grow and prosper as societies. The principles governing the scientific approach have built a structure which allows the world's best minds to work together and learn from each other. In the past, such framework didn't exist and you'd often have scientific discoveries, or duplicate work and lack of cohesion, simply because of a lack of framework. I think this was also one of our greatest accomplishments, because it opened the path to progress. VET Week It is now standard to think of vocational educational at par with other types of education, but it wasn't always like this before. The importance of a wider spectrum of opportuni- ties to young people is now being seen as a must, not just in Malta but across the whole world. Especially in Europe, coun- tries are accelerating their pace to change from a stand- ardised-testing model to one which is more inclusive of the different abilities and quali- ties of students and focus on a more personalised method of approach. F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The cu- rious case of Benjamin Button' put it nicely: "Some have an ear for music. Some are artists. Some swim. Some know but- tons. Some know Shakespeare. Some are mothers. And some people — dance." Every indi- vidual has different likes and dislikes and we can't expect everyone to conform to one particular way of learning and assessing. National Book Festival I invite you all to go down at MCC in Valletta since today is the last day of the Malta book Festival. It's a great place where you can take your children and browse through some really good and interest- ing books, including a lot of good work by local authors. (under Maltese law) of organ- ised crime in Malta. The issue of jurisdiction will be unique. Malta is the clos- est state to Hurds Bank so the argument may be that the easi- est law to apply in these cases is Maltese law. Of course, there may be other international parties that may want their say (e.g. Italy) for other parts of international waters. A UN led commission can bring compro- mises. The compromise after discussions at international level may also be (1) a totally international court with inter- national crimes or (2) a mix of different state laws. We must admit. Malta has its limitations to deal with international organised crime. These reports show that the rule of law is rough at high seas and it has spiralled out of control. This is the second PMM that PD is proposing on good governance and the elimina- tion of crime in a space of four months. The first PMM con- cerned the set-up of a Parlia- mentary Committee to scru- tinise MFSA, e-Gaming and FIAU, thus creating a different tier of checks and balances.