Children would love to have more open spaces in which to play and farmers would like to feel more appreciated for their tough job.
“It’s often the little things that produce well-being. Sometimes it’s the obvious things.
“But the obvious is not always that obvious,” according to Ruth Farrugia, director general of the President’s Foundation for the Well-being of Society set up six months ago.
With an ‘organogram’ in hand, she maps out the multiple facets of the foundation and, although complex at first, it soon falls into place. The foundation’s main aim is to bring people together to discuss what matters to them.
This is done through various consultative fora which organise discussions for different groups of people, including children, people with disabilities and interfaith groups.
What I wasn’t banking on was the feeling of well-being generated during the meetings
These fora, Dr Farrugia says, are at the heart of the foundation.
“Over the past months we have started meeting people. We’ve brought together people from so many different strata of society, different ages, abilities, nationalities, faiths, cultures... We thought we were going to be asking people about well-being. What I wasn’t banking on was the feeling of well-being generated during the meetings,” she says.
During one of these fora, for example, the foundation organised a formal event at Verdala Castle for teenagers who were not doing well at school.
“They were so happy someone had shown them such respect. Such little things are what make people feel good.”
In another forum, parents of disabled children spoke about the way they were told about their child’s condition – some in hospital corridors.
Elderly people spoke about the loss of worth they felt after retiring and before others encouraged them to try voluntary work.
The information gathered during these meetings – which provide a networking platform for individuals and NGOs – will not remain stuck between four walls. It will be used to inspire research carried out by the foundation’s research branch.
This branch is divided into five areas, for work on research projects which include teacher-student relationships, the reasons behind early school leaving, access to healthy food and problematic internet use.
The foundation also has a projects section, which is working on setting up a museum of childhood. The museum is still at the concept stage.
It is also working on setting up a children’s hub, to be announced in April, wherein children will be exposed to NGO-run projects on healthy eating and food from different cultures, as well as dance and movement, the use of recyclables, reading and storytelling.
“People seem to appreciate that someone, at the level of the presidency, wants to listen to them and give them space,” she says.