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Silvan Agius: 'We have the right to live our lives' Equality practitioner Silvan Agius sits down with Karl Azzopardi to discuss the importance of Pride, double standards faced by the queer community and how the fight for equality lives on 4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 JUNE 2026 INTERVIEW PRIDE March attendance fig- ures have soared over the years and for equality practitioner Silvan Agius this shows how far the queer community has come in civil rights. But equally, he argues, that any downturn in participation would be the first signal of a re- gression in civil rights. I meet Agius in the wake of the interview I had with new- ly-elected Nationalist MP Con- rad Borg Manche in which the latter questioned the need for Pride and argued queer people were now accepted by society. Agius had publicly voiced dis- agreement with many of Borg Manche's statements, even taking MaltaToday to task for carrying the interview without seeking reactions from queer people. Agius, a gay man, tells me sweeping statements claiming the queer community has been accepted by society are false, with personal experiences testa- ment to this. "Acceptance is not system- atic. You will not always find open doors. I experience this, and other queer people experi- ence it. We have unique realties which are not experienced by other individuals," he tells me. Agius insists equality should not be taken for granted, and the fight goes on. "If anything, queer people need better visi- bility." On Pride, he also slams those questioning its relevance, com- paring it to other popular mass celebrations in the country. "We are a very festive country and we like to celebrate, includ- ing during village feasts. They have been organised for a long time. Some could say we have reached our religious climax, and no longer need to celebrate feasts, but nobody says it," he tells me. Agius also has praise, not just criticism, for political entities. He praises government for the creation of a ministry specifical- ly focused on equality and hu- man rights, and the Nationalist Party for including widening of civil rights in its electoral man- ifesto.