About us
The “Empowering Children’s Participation in Malta” project is co-funded by the EU Program for Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV). The project aims to contribute towards improving child participation and enable them to freely express their views and influence any decisions that will affect them.
This project is being implemented by the Ministry for Social Policy and Children’s Rights (MSPC) in collaboration with the University College Cork (UCC) and the Commissioner for Children (CFC), Malta.
Project Goals
The results that this project is actively targeting include improved quality of life for all children in Malta, better opportunities for their growth and development, and the empowerment of their voices to contribute towards national matters. The project will involve children in every step and will be implemented in full consultation with children throughout.
The “Empowering Children’s Participation in Malta” Project has 3 main objectives:
- The development of an online child participation platform, available as a website and mobile app. (The Empowering Children App). This platform will provide a safe, inclusive, and meaningful space for children to share their thoughts and ideas and to participate in national policymaking.
Through a dedicated chat providing professional support, the Empowering Children App will also provide assistance to the most vulnerable children experiencing any form of social exclusion, abuse, neglect, and/or psychological difficulties and are in need of emotional, moral, and social support. - Building the capacity of policymakers to integrate and improve children’s participation in decision-making. This will also include the creation of a unique Child Policy Evaluation Toolkit, to be used in Malta and potentially also in other countries.
- Raising awareness about children’s right to be heard.
Impact
The project will strengthen the children’s personal development, self-confidence, and the ability for critical thinking which will lead to greater involvement in societal, civic and political issues.
An awareness campaign will educate stakeholders, including children, policymakers, parents and educators, fostering a better understanding and implementation of child participation.
The project will provide the necessary skills to public officials to incorporate children’s participation in policymaking and strengthen their capacity to support, monitor, and evaluate children’s participation.
The creation of an online Children’s Participation Mechanism will enable children’s participation in a systematic and meaningful way, and provide a space for children to express their opinions on issues relevant to them.
The Child Participation Evaluation Toolkit will strengthen the capacity of the beneficiaries of this project to evaluate and improve children’s participation policies and contribute to better policies both at the national level as well as in the international one.
The project aligns with the recommendations of the European Commission to establish and improve children’s participation mechanisms and increase awareness of children’s rights through campaigns and training.
The Empowering Children’s Participation in Malta Project – a lasting commitment to empower children and make their voice a reality.
Kellimni.com Online Service
Kellimni.com is a secure 24/7 online platform targeted towards people who require emotional support from a professional team. On Kellimni.com they can feel safe to open about their concerns through a medium which they know and understand, and where they can feel like they are not alone and that there is someone who cares about them, and cares that their life can be free from pain and fear. At Kellimni.com we are ready to listen to service users and provide assistance adopting an anonymous and confidential approach.
The nature of the online platform means that it is accessible to all regardless of their economic or social position. Kellimni.com reaches out to people who are denied or stripped of their rights – particularly persons experiencing abuse or neglect, differently-abled individuals; people whose families are in crisis; people who are bullied by their peers or superiors; people with addiction problems; people who are being discriminated against on the basis of religious, racial or sexual grounds; and those in conflict with the law.
We encourage the person to express their concerns and talk about the issues directly affecting them. Kellimni.com offers a platform through which the following needs and rights of the service user are addressed:
- Right to voice concerns.
- Right to realise own rights.
- Right to be listened to in a safe, non-judgmental, and confidential manner.
- Need to seek support from qualified individuals.
- Need to seek information about other available services.
- Need to receive support and information in a timely manner.
Kellimni.com also offers an information section on its website where there are numerous topics related to issues that people may be experiencing. These are accessible to those who may not want to access active support but may be seeking information on an issue affecting them.
