Innovation: Fondazzjoni Xjuhija Attiva Malta (FXAM) – Active Ageing Foundation Malta

Malta

AAI Domain: Participation in society (political participation, voluntary activities)

Whilst many countries have long-established non-governmental organisations that campaign for older people, carers and for improvements in health and social care, there are still some states where the policy actors promoting the active ageing agenda are still developing. The Republic of Malta with its population of around 450,000 people faces the common challenges of an ageing society and ranked eighteenth within the EU-28 on the Active Ageing Index in 2014. Promoting the interests of older people now and in the future requires non-governmental organisations to lobby decision makers for policies that will meet these needs and to shape the views of the wider public about active ageing.

The Active Ageing Foundation Malta (FXAM) is a small non-governmental organisation that was founded in January 2013 to promote the concept of active ageing based on continuing participation and active responsibility across society for older people and demographic change. It aims to promote well-being and social engagement for all people across Maltese society through advocacy, education and research on active ageing through partnership working with a variety of stakeholders including the University of Malta and communities across Malta and Gozo.

Although it is in its infancy, FXAM has ambitious aims to make Malta one of the best places in the world in which to grow old and to be among the first countries in the world to fully apply the United Nation’s Principles for Older People that were published in 1991. These include independence for older people through the provision of services to meet their basic needs, to participate and remain integrated in society, access to health and social support services, self-fulfilment through educational, cultural and spiritual resources and to lead a life with dignity and security.

Realising these ambitions will require changing the attitudes and minds of younger people towards ageing and influencing policy decisions at local and national levels. This will involve developing and supporting grassroots initiatives for active ageing through community support across Malta and by encouraging voluntary efforts to improve the quality of life of older people now and in the future.

In relation to the Active Ageing Index it is most relevant to promoting voluntary activities and fostering political participation for the cause of older people and in the future. In the context of Maltese society, FXAM is a social innovation that is in its formative stages of development but offers considerable promise if it is successful.