The University of Malta Cottonera Resource Centre has been set up to bridge the gap between the university and children and youths, as well as their families, who live in the inner harbour region.
The centre will act as a hub that coordinates links between these communities and the university, facilitating resource-transfer and capacity building.
Simultaneously, the centre will also promote the area’s potential, in the form of skills, trades and other forms of heritage, such as the maritime tradition, which are particular to the region.
Speaking yesterday during the inauguration, Education Minister Dolores Cristina said that the Cottonera region was faced with social, cultural and economic barriers which needed to be overcome.
“Unfortunately, there are families with no culture of reading. It’s hard to imagine, but families do exist where the only printed material which enters the house is in the form of newspaper wrapping which comes with fish and chips.
“We need youths to familiarise themselves with the education sector on an individual level. Nurture groups and learning support systems will help give the students the self-confidence and self-esteem they require.
“I also meet many adults who tell me that they’ve missed their chance to get an education. It is never too late. The centre will provide resources which will enable adults to be introduced to education.”
The main services will be offered as a three-part process.
Children and youths will be assigned mentors with whom they may share anxieties, seek help and befriend. University students may volunteer as mentors and receive a Degree Plus certificate. “Cottonera is an insulated region,” the centre’s director Andreana Dibben told The Times.
“Due to the current college system, they spend their primary and secondary years within the same area and thus do not have the opportunity of mixing in other areas. The mentoring system will expose them to a more educated population.”
The centre will also act as a space where parents may gather and, together with a guidance teacher, exchange ideas and coping strategies.
The centre also offers career guidance and promotes employment opportunities.
Comments from area’s young people, parents and academics:
• More guidance and support regarding studying should be given to both students and their families.
• Skills and trades particular to the region (such as the traditional Regatta boat-building) are not being recognised enough. Youths feel they are not given the space and the ability to turn them into an enterprise.
• Many adults felt that they had ‘missed the boat’ when younger and wished to return to education.
• Despite the amount of research undertaken by the university, Cottonera residents have never received any additional feedback from the outcomes. In effect, there are over 40 theses focusing on the Cottonera region.
• Cottonera lacks recreational space for youths; the little available space has either been privatised or has been abandoned and become dangerous.