Professionals from various sectors have joined forces to promote the well-being of children through specific projects.

In a new venture, Advocacy for Legacy, the professionals will champion actions targeting those in danger of neglect, primarily children who increasingly face the challenges of a difficult up-bringing due to economic pressures, substance abuse and other factors that hinder development.

The venture is the brainchild of Corporate ID Group chairman Jesmond Saliba, who said he wanted to take corporate social responsibility to a totally new level. “This is an innovative approach bringing together major players from the corporate sector, academia, activism and the professions to contribute collectively and constructively.

“Advocacy for Legacy introduces Malta to Corporate Social Advocacy, which goes well beyond Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR),” Mr Saliba told the Times of Malta.

“We have become accustomed to CSR exercises that support existing projects, but social advocacy is strategically deployed, concrete action directed towards influencing policy and implementation of programmes in a specific area, in this case societal well-being,” he said.

The group will eventually be transformed into a foundation

Advocacy for Legacy will start as a forum championing the well-being of society through a concerted effort by academia, industry players, NGOs and other players who seek to address societal ailments through a focused and well-researched approach.

The initial efforts will focus on the academic research done by the University of Malta’s Faculty of Social Well-being, where sociologists and experts in children’s well-being in particular will analyse and identify a number of issues that necessitate immediate preventive action.

Through the participation of the corporate sector, companies will be invited to engage their workers in championing the actions taken by Advocacy for Legacy for children.

The team so far brings together, at various levels of engagement, several successful entrepreneurs, sociologists, child well-being professionals, experts from the voluntary sector engaged with children, representatives of constituted bodies, academics, professionals in different fields and societal well-being activists.

Mr Saliba said the group would eventually be transformed into a foundation which, with existing governmental and non-governmental organisations, would facilitate and implement actions ensuring that the economic pro-gress of the country results in improved societal well-being. He said that Maltese members of the European Parliament Miriam Dalli and Roberta Metsola had endorsed the vision and would work together to raise the issue of child neglect higher on the agenda of the EU.

President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca is the patron of Advocacy for Legacy.

Asked if the new venture meant that he would stop his involvement at id-Dar tal-Providenza and activism in the disability sector, Mr Saliba replied: “Definitely Not! Charity begins at home, and id-Dar tal-Providenza is home.”

As to whether this was a first step towards involvement in politics, Mr Saliba excluded the possibility, adding that party politics was not the only way to influence policies or be an agent of change.

“This project rises above party politics,” he said.

“We cannot afford that the interests of this cohort of society are put at risk because of the tribal mentality with which we approach politics. I am committed to the cause and to being a voice to children who are at risk.”

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