President Vella launches third edition of the national conference on the ‘State of the Nation’

President George Vella launched the third edition of the Survey and the National Conference on the ‘State of the Nation’, taking place in June at the Verdala Palace.

“I think that this spontaneity is a factor that determined the success of the ‘State of the Nation’, and I am convinced that this year there will also be interesting insights and elements,” Vella said on Wednesday morning.

During the launch at Sant’ Anton Palace, the President said the subjects planned for this year’s conference are all directly related to the citizens’ everyday life. These include the family, the media and its new challenges in society, cultural and religious traditions, rights, and equality.

The President said that individuals will once again be given a space to express what they feel, without mincing words, on subjects that sometimes can also be a little uncomfortable. 

He remarked that it would be very interesting to see if there will be any shifts and in what direction, also due to the continuous dynamism in our community, the socio-economic developments, the presence of foreigners among us, and the current international turmoil. 

President Vella thanked the Strategic Communication Consultant, Lou Bondì, and the Statistician and Lecturer at the University of Malta, Vincent Marmarà, for their work, determination, and energy. 

Marmarà explained how the information is already being collected from a sample of 1,064 people aged 16 and over. 

He said that the main purpose is not to make known the opinions on a particular thing or different events, but to look deeper at what could lead to the formation of people’s principles and opinions. 

“This year we will have the opportunity to compare the last three years, and this will start to give better visibility on how certain important views are changing among the people. The discussion will not start until we have heard what the people are saying. This will guarantee that we keep the people at the centre of the discussion,” Marmarà said.

Bondì, on the other hand, noted that this conference became a point of reference in the national debate about who we are as Maltese and Gozitans. 

He said that the speakers will once again come from different fields: academics, politicians, entrepreneurs, members of non-governmental organisations, and others. Mr Bondì announced that, for the first time this year, towards the end of the conference he will conduct separate interviews with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.