The Minister for Justice and the Family has appointed Dr Natalie Kenely as Chairman of the National Commission for the Family.
The role of the Commission is to advise government and suggest appropriate measures to promote the wellbeing of Maltese families, in the context of the rapid social changes that are taking place.
The Commission's tasks include: studying the impact of all legislation on the family - and where necessary proposing and promoting new legislation - ensuring that families, and the fundamental rights of every human being within them, are adequately safeguarded; examining the effects of economic change on the Maltese families and ensuring that these benefit from the economic advances of the country; examining all social welfare benefits as well as fiscal and other benefits, services, or policies in order to ensure that these are designed in a manner which strengthens the family unit under all circumstances; promoting and ensuring the integration of social and family policies at all levels of society.
The deputy chairman is Ms. Frances Galea. The other newly-appointed members are Gejtu Vella, Dr Godwin Grima,Clara Sammut Scerri, Dr Andrew Azzopardi, Dr Ramona Frendo, Dr Angele Formosa, Sina Bugeja, Prof. Angela Abela, Prof. Mary Anne Lauri, and Dr Maria Fatima Deguara.
Lorraine Sultanais Secretary to the Commission.
Dr Kenely is a social worker by profession and is a member of the Maltese Association of Social Workers. Her PhD in Social Work focused on emotional intelligence and transformational leadership within organisations. Dr Kenely is a full time lecturer within the Department of Social Policy and Social Work within the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy of the University of Malta, where she has been lecturing for over 16 years.
She chairs the Faculty’s Research Ethics Committee, and coordinates student research within the Department. She is also a member of the Social Work Profession Board. Dr Kenely served as a consultant to the then Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity, for the creation, implementation and testing of an evaluation study of the care system offered to looked-after children in residential homes and foster care. Dr Kenely is involved in voluntary work throughher leadership of Youth Fellowship and Tabgha Foundation for the past 24 years.
Dr Kenely is married to Godfrey Kenely and they have two children, Nicole and Matthew.