Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1115758
OPINION 28 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 MAY 2019 It all starts from literacy Evarist Bartolo Evarist Bartolo is Minister for Education and Employment PART of the most important literacy initiatives included in the National Literacy Strat- egy are the reading recovery programmes. Reading recovery involves a short series of daily one-to-one lessons with a spe- cially trained teacher. Reading recovery is different for every child, starting from what the child knows and what he or she needs to learn next. The focus of each lesson is to compre- hend messages in reading and construct messages in writing, learning how to use letter and word detail fluently without losing focus on meaning and comprehension. These programmes are crucial in identifying children with literacy difficulties early, and help create an outline for a way forward on how to go about addressing it. This identifica- tion often goes missing in our education system and we simply expect the child to make for loss of ground by magic. It is also helpful for the educator because it allows one to understand the different levels of attainment and help fill in these gaps. These are the types of pro- grammes which have helped us achieve improved literacy rates, reduce early school-leaving and strengthen student attainment figures. Literacy is often seen as the most fundamental of princi- ples in education because when literacy is weak, so is the rest. How technology and education can merge The Malta Robotics Olympiad is the perfect example of how technology, education and hav- ing a fun time can all be under the same roof. Some subjects might seem dreary in textbooks but when they are applied to interesting projects and cool technology, they spring into life. It is great to see children, young people and not-so-young people look at the code behind a robotic movement or solve logic problems in AI scenarios. We need more of this in education, and it should not be limited to the MRO but throughout the year. In a time and age where engagement in education for young people is so difficult, we have to adapt things to keep bridging the gap. If we persist in the olden ways, the spark of curiosity and interest will sim- ply be replaced by something other than education. I strongly believe this to be the next challenge for the educational system, especially since children today have a phone at their fin- gertips and a tablet before they have hard shoes. We can blame it on many things: social media, game consoles, parents and a mil- lion other things. But the truth is that engaging young people needs to start from within. What a football match teaches us The Tottenham comeback against Ajax earlier this week was the greatest comeback... since the previous night. Liverpool's night of folly at Anfield against Messi's Barce- lona will become one for the history books. It was indeed a great week for football. I think there's a beautiful lesson in both comebacks and that in the end, it does not matter how expen- sive your team is, how likely or unlikely you are to succeed or how difficult the task is, at the end it is about heart and determination. I truly believe that if Liverpool and Spurs didn't score their respective last goal and didn't make it through, their supporters would be just as proud. This is not just a footballing lesson, but a life lesson. Give your heart out in what you do, and you'll be proud to look yourself in the mirror. It does not matter how ambitious the result is, what truly matters is the determination, heart and grit of your try. It was a beautiful football- ing spectacle which pushed the limits of the imagination, and I suspect the limit of some people's heart valves. But in the end, as in life, it is giving it all that matters. THE use of online platforms, price comparison websites and search en- gines in our daily life has considerably increased as they help us to buy goods and services, or book the next holiday accommodation in a simple and fast way. Such platforms not only enable consumers to find information online in an easy way, with more choices of goods making it easier to identify best value deals but have also facilitated the creation of new markets and com- mercial opportunities for businesses including those considered to be small or micro in dimension. The rapidly growing electronic market in Malta is playing an important role in the way that people do business, com- municate and purchase their goods and services through electronic means. Ac- cording to the Chamber of Commerce more than 175,200 (64.5%) people have been trading electronically for clothes, sports goods, holiday accommodation and travel arrangements. While the use of online platforms is becoming a common practice among Maltese and Gozitan citizens, they are also crucial for small and medium busi- ness users (SMEs) because their busi- ness depends on online platforms and search engines, which they use in order to reach customers. It is worth empha- sising that the SMEs sector is very sig- nificant in Malta, since they represent a big chunk of the overall enterprise market share. There are various argu- ments that must be tackled including how to ensure that SMEs are encour- aged to continue participating actively in the online platform environments, guaranteeing high visibility to their consumers. Furthermore, what can we do to promote the consumer's confi- dence in these platforms, by ensuring that online platforms are managed in a safe, fair and transparent manner? At the European Parliament I have worked to tackle these issues by nego- tiating a new law that regulates online platforms. As the rapporteur of the regulation on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of on- line services in the Committee on Legal Affairs, I have ensured that this new law benefits both SMEs and consum- ers. Businesses, as all other economic players, should be protected from big giants when using online platforms. For example, this regulation will ensure transparency with regard to ranking of goods and services in search results triggered by consumers ensuring there is no abuse of power by platforms or unfair competition. Furthermore, we have identified unfair trading practices which will no longer be allowed and cannot be made use of by platforms when dealing with business users. This regulation is also crucial for the hospi- tality sector as data collected through platforms as a result of commercial activity of a business user is to be made available to the respective business. This will ensure a better service and facilitate targeted marketing. Technology, innovation and online platforms are surely bringing more competition, private investment and job creation. Over the past years, the growth in sectors like hospitality and tourism in Malta, is not only positively impacting overall economic growth and job creation, but it is moreover neces- sitating the protection of the interest of businesses that are active in these sectors, and meeting the customer's information needs. This is what I have sought to achieve through this regula- tion. Throughout the twenty months that I have served as your representa- tive within the European Parliament I worked closely with the Malta Business Bureau (MBB). Recently we met again to discuss their proposals ahead of the forthcoming elections. Among the main issues MBB spoke about, is the need to implement policies that create a fair and competitive business environment, the facilitation of digital transformation and continuous investment in innova- tion. I remain committed to strengthen the digital single market to open up digital opportunities for people and business and to strengthen the digital economy. This is why in our manifesto we are proposing to tackle unfair competition faced by our SMEs and why we want to attract new economic sectors that offer good jobs such as those in the digital sector. We have achieved much with this regulation, through halting geo-blocking (whereby one used to be blocked from shopping from other member states) but the digital single market is still a case of 'works in pro- gress' and is it up to us to ensure that all digital barriers are overcome to truly have a fair and well regulated free mar- ket online. While I keep the goals and ambitions of businesses and citizens close to my heart, I commit to keep working to bring about the full scope of the European Union's digital ambitions, and I hope to count on your support to help me continue to make progress in this area. Much more needs to be done and I am determined to keep working on these issues if the people of Malta provide me with another mandate in the European Parliament. Francis Zammit Dimech Francis Zammit Dimech is a Nationalist MEP and candidate Delivering for businesses and consumers