Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1481871
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 OCTOBER 2022 OPINION 11 Julia Farrugia-Portelli The word is action Not only has support for the PN declined to a mere 19%, nation- wide (which - all other things re- maining equal – would translate into an electoral disparity of even more than 70,000); but Bernard Grech's own popularity rating among younger (16-35) votes has slumped to a scarcely-believable 7.3%. In other words, more than a full percentage point LESS than the support for Alternattiva Demokratika, among the same cohort. (And what was it again, that the PN used to repeated- ly tell AD voters all those years ago? 'Don't bother, because it's a wasted vote'?…) But wait, there's more. The context we are looking at goes well beyond the PN's inability to ever improve its own electoral standing (which, as I recall, was pretty much the only job Bernard Grech was actually entrusted with, when he took over in 2020). Apart from spelling out so much trouble for the PN, the same MaltaToday survey is not exactly very reassuring for Rob- ert Abela's Labour Party, either. On one level, it registers a marked increase in 'voter-apa- thy', especially among the young (and this had already taken a fair bite out of Abela's majority, during the last election). But Labour appears to have also lost a not-insignificant 2.6 percent- age-points, since July. And if that's not enough, to suggest that 'great big cracks' are now beginning to appear all over the Labour Party HQ in Mile End: there's also that Desmond Zammit Marmara article I men- tioned earlier. Here, we admittedly have to a be more cautious – for at the end of the day, it remains but the pri- vate opinion of a single, solitary human being… and even then, arguably one who is not even particularly 'representative', of what the Labour Party has be- come today… … but, well, that's whole point, innit? If even a self-styled 'La- bour stalwart' like Desmond Zammit Marmara – who has spent literally decades, champi- oning the PL's more traditional 'core values' as a Socialist party – could bring himself to publicly denounce Labour as: "no longer the political party providing a shield for the workers but [it] has become the political party rep- resenting first and foremost the interests of big business…" … how many other 'staunch Labourites' must be feeling the same way, right now, about the direction 'their' party seems to be taking? And yet, despite the unique opportunity that all this would offer, to any serious Opposi- tion Party, in any country in the world… Nothing. Nada. Zilch. The PN once again proves per- fectly incapable of clawing back even a single, solitary vote, of the 40,000+ it has lost since 2003… and it even manages to lose a few tens of thousands more, while it's at it. See what I mean, about suspect- ing that Bernard Grech might be an 'extra-terrestrial in disguise'? That is, after all, the sort of po- litical feat that takes more than just an 'ordinary human being', to actually accomplish… AS the Minister for Inclusion, on Thursday and Friday of this week I had the pleasure of ad- dressing and hosting an important internation- al conference of the European Association of Service providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD) which represents over 20,000 support services for persons with disabilities across the whole of Europe. This was no humdrum conference aimed at providing annual fora for a selected number of participants in their given sector, but one with a specific aim - 'Quality of Life & Support Ser- vices: From Words to Action'. The conference included a set working programme spotlight- ing both the achievements and the challenges ahead to all of us involved in the disabilities sec- tor, from academics, service providers and pol- icy makers to regulators, service users and pro- fessionals with the full participation of persons with disabilities themselves and their families and guardians. However small, Mal- ta has made substantial progress in this sector and I am proud to re- call how through recent years we have collec- tively made significant changes to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities, even during the worst times of the pandemic. As Maya Doneva, EASPD Secre- tary General, said: "The pandemic has really shown what we as social service providers do and how essential we are for each community." The relevance of such international gather- ings is reflected in the vast exchange of views, training and experiences among both local and international stakeholders, no doubt positively influencing each other to reach new highs for a section of the population that had been for far too long on the sidelines. Embracing change and moving away from the word "hope" is imperative as we seek to trans- form, in concrete terms, our actions in a way that empowers not just persons with a disability but also our policymakers. Instilling change is an essential part of providing a distinctly better quality of life to those persons we support in our society as the ongoing search for rightful inclu- sion, equity, independence, justice and fairness gains momentum. There will always be room for improvment, of course. We do not dare claim our work has been done and all's right with the world. How- ever, we honestly believe we can be part of an array of successful models, as evidenced during the EASPD conference when the Malta and Scotland models were presented for both dis- cussion and diffusion. We can modestly say that we were able to submit the perfect example of sheer determination and dedication on the part of all players in the Maltese disability sector, from national agencies and voluntary organisa- tions to persons with disabilities, their families and guardians. "Quality of Life and Support Services: from Words to Actions" was indeed an inspiring title for the conference, reflecting the need to fur- ther motivate support services in implementing modern quality measurement models that fo- cus on improving the quality of life of the peo- ple we support. Malta's transition "from paper to action" is, today, a tangible reality. Suffice to say how we have put into action sev- eral initiatives and projects to ensure a better quality of life. Millions have been invested in Day Centres run by Aġenzija Sapport, the 'Way to Work' scheme which will prepare persons with disability with the neccessary training before they enter the world of work, and the SensAbil- ity scheme which allows people to have a mul- ti-sensory room in their own homes are just a few of the many projects and initiatives that are putting those in need at the cen- tre of our communities. We always emphasise that the main strate- gy adopted by Aġenzija Sapport is to provide people with disability with support rather than care, so that they would be able to achieve inde- pendence to the best of their ability, continue living within the community and receive sup- port as and when required. All of that based on person-centred and family-centred planning, quality measurement models, and co-produc- tion, among others. The emphatic rationale of the EASPD confer- ence in Malta was that of recognising the issue of measuring the quality of services for persons with disabilities as a challenging mission for most service providers. The challenges arise not only from the lack of a mutually agreed definition on what quality is but also on how it can be measured efficiently and how it can further help services improve – a mis- sion that is acknowledged at all levels of different world societies, including the European Union. This week's conglomeration of no less that 60 international and national speakers was an event that spurs us on to even greater efforts at making the lives of persons with disabilities not only better, but also of prime quality. Sharing our experiences with so many protagonists and learning from theirs was a sure way of meeting the ever-changing challenges of our mission. For us, the word has been and always will be action. Julia Farrugia-Portelli is minister for inclusion, voluntary organisations and consumer rights I am proud to recall how through recent years we have collectively made significant changes to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities, even during the worst times of the pandemic