Annual General Meeting - Malta Sociological Association

    

The Annual General Meeting of the Malta Sociological Association will be held on Friday 10th March 2023 at 18:30. The meeting is open to paid members of the MSA and those interested in joining the MSA (payments can be affected on the day). Members interested in joining the meeting should inform us by the 27^th February by replying to this email.  Members are encouraged to renew their membership. More details re renewal of membership can be accessed through this link http://www.maltasociologicalassociation.com/2019/10/join-malta-sociological-association.html. 

Members are also invited to come forward with any proposals regarding the amendment of statute of the organisation so that these may be inserted in the agenda of the meeting accordingly. Kindly send these by return email to maltasociologicalassociation@gmail.com. 

    

Self-nominations for specific positions on the Executive Committee may be sent to maltasociologicalassociation@gmail.com and need to be addressed to the Secretary. The subject of the email should be: Nominations MSA Committee. Nominations will be received until the 27^th February 2022. Only paid members of the MSA may submit a nomination for the Executive Committee.   

    

The positions that need to be filled are the following:   

    

• Chairperson   

• Vice Chairperson   

• Secretary  

• Treasurer 

• Public Relations Officer    

• Events Officer   

• Outreach Officer   

• Training Officer   

• International Relations Officer   

  

The AGM will be held in Floriana. Venue will be announced closer to date.  Those attending are welcome to join for drinks after the meeting. 

Sociologists submit proposals for Malta’s Sustainable Development Strategy

The Malta Sociological Association (MSA) has submitted its feedback to the Government with respect to the public consultation on Sustainable Development Strategy 2050.
 
“On a macro-level, the MSA believes that over-dependence on construction/land development should be a cause for concern. Malta should look towards more sustainable economic models.”
 
“The MSA is also proposing that all industrial and construction activities include a plan identifying any negative impact on society/environment resulting from such activities and how the relevant private interests will mitigate against these as well as contribute positively to society in general”.
 
“The MSA is calling for an extension of the Green Leaders initiative and for the mainstreaming of accessibility in the strategy. One everyday example of this, which is not given enough importance in Malta’s policy process, is the need for accessible pavements.”
 
“The MSA also emphasizes that extensive deliberation and Social Impact Assessments should be mainstreamed in Malta’s policy process in general, not least in the Sustainable Development Strategy for 2050.”
 
 
Related links:
https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2023-01-05/blogs-opinions/Sustainable-development-2050-6736248624
https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2022-12-22/blogs-opinions/Green-leaders-for-sustainable-development-6736248389
https://www.socialimpactassessment.com/documents/IAIA%202015%20Social%20Impact%20Assessment%20guidance%20document.pdf  

St Albert College: MSA calls for Social Impact Assessment

Kindly find below feedback of the Malta Sociological Association to the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), calling for an ongoing Social Impact Assessment in response to the call for consultation regarding the construction of St Albert the Great Community College.

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With reference to the consultation PA 01123/20 (EA 00021/20), and which may be accessed through this link, the Malta Sociological Association (registered VO 1323) proposes that the Environment Impact Assessment includes a Social Impact Assessment as an ongoing process.

 

The International Principles for Social Impact Assessment defines SIA as being “the processes of analysing, monitoring and managing the intended and unintended social consequences, both positive and negative, of planned interventions (policies, programs, plans, projects) and any social change processes invoked by those interventions”.

 

An SIA is an interdisciplinary process, and should employ various methods, both quantitative and qualitative. Social impact assessments should not be one-off exercises: To the contrary, they should be ongoing processes which engage with various stakeholders and which report back so as to ensure effective policy processes.

 

In this regard, you may refer to international SIA standards, for example those set by the International Association for Impact Assessment, which is accessible from this link:

 

https://www.socialimpactassessment.com/documents/IAIA%202015%20Social%20Impact%20Assessment%20guidance%20document.pdf  

 

Reference: Frank Vanclay (2003) International Principles For Social Impact Assessment, Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, 21:1, 5-a12, DOI: 10.3152/147154603781766491

MSA Newsletter Vol 1 Issue 1, 2023

 

Public Consultation: Malta’s National Strategic Action Plan for Further and Higher Education 2022 - 2030

To: Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation (Malta Further and Higher Education Authority)   

With reference to the consultation in question and which can be accessed through this link, the Malta Sociological Association (registered VO 1323) has the following feedback:

 

The plan should:

1.       Encourage all areas of knowledge, while supporting areas which are currently less developed.

2.      Ensure quality of further and higher education with any measures undertaken.

3.      Support internationalisation initiatives and exchanges.

4.      Support private initiatives to foster, maintain and attract knowledge, and enhance public initiatives in this regard.

5.      Promote the social relevance of all areas of knowledge, working with practitioners in the field. 

 

To facilitate the above in terms of evidence-based policy making, the Malta Sociological Association proposes that the entire policy process employs a social impact assessment in an ongoing process.

 

The International Principles for Social Impact Assessment defines SIA as being “the processes of analysing, monitoring and managing the intended and unintended social consequences, both positive and negative, of planned interventions (policies, programs, plans, projects) and any social change processes invoked by those interventions”.

 

An SIA is an interdisciplinary process, and should employ various methods, both quantitative and qualitative. Social impact assessments should not be one-off exercises: To the contrary, they should be ongoing processes which engage with various stakeholders and which report back so as to ensure effective policy processes.

 

In this regard, you may refer to international SIA standards, for example those set by the International Association for Impact Assessment, which is accessible from this link:

 

https://www.socialimpactassessment.com/documents/IAIA%202015%20Social%20Impact%20Assessment%20guidance%20document.pdf  

 

Reference: Frank Vanclay (2003) International Principles For Social Impact Assessment, Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, 21:1, 5-a12, DOI: 10.3152/147154603781766491

"Chalet and Qawra sites require Social Impact Assessment" Malta Sociological Association

The Malta Sociological Association (MSA) has called for social impact assessments in relation to Government's proposal to declassify three public properties from the public domain. 

In its feedback to the Planning Authority, MSA said that the entire policy process in question should employ social impact assessments, in an ongoing process.

"Hence, Social Impact Assessments should be conducted with regard to the following
public properties, which are being proposed by Government for declassification from
the Public Domain to serve both private and public interests:
1. Chalet, Triq it-Torri, Sliema
2. Triq Dawret il-Qawra, Bugibba l/o St.Paul’s Bay (Site A)
3. Triq Dawret il-Qawra, Bugibba l/o St.Paul’s Bay (Site D)"

The MSA referred to the International Principles for Social Impact Assessment, established by the International Association for Impact Assessment, and emphasized that such studies should be ongoing processes with constant engagement with stakeholders, rather than one-off exercises. 

Image:  © Enrique Íñiguez Rodríguez (CC-BY-SA)

6 years of MSA!

Commemorating 6 years since the launch of the Malta Sociological Association. 

Thanks to the founders, the committee members along the years, and all the members forming MSA.

Photo L-R Julian Micallef (Treasurer), Maria C Borg (Secretary), Bridget Borg (Chairperson), Michael Briguglio (Public Relations Officer), Mariella Debono (Deputy Chairperson). 

To join the MSA, please check out details at www.maltasociologicalassociation.com