Legacies for the future | Maureen Cole

Prof. Maureen Cole, Department of Social Policy and Social Work

The Faculty for Social Wellbeing celebrated its 10th anniversary last year. Prof. Andrew Azzopardi, Dean of the faculty, Ms Jamie Bonnici, a former research support officer, and I put together a publication entitled ‘A Decade of Us 2012-2022’ to commemorate this milestone. In this short piece I selected what I consider some important experiences and insights about the first decade which I augur that the Faculty for Social Wellbeing will take forward into the next.

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Social justice was central to the faculty’s mission at its inception and during the first decade of its life. This centrality of social justice remains vital and is even more pertinent today and for the future as societal challenges and complexity increase. A social justice lens will ensure that the faculty continues to be sensitised to issues of oppression and human rights both locally and internationally.

Oppression can take many forms and as Mattaini and Holtschneider (2016) state when quoting Young (1990), it might manifest itself as exploitation, marginalisation, as in the case of homeless people, powerlessness, cultural imperialism, demanding that people of other cultures live by the values of the dominant group in society and by various forms of violence . This social justice perspective could continue to be the guiding light for important decisions taken by the faculty in terms of its teaching, research, community engagement, and advocacy.

Collegiality and collaboration were highlighted by several of the key actors involved in the early days of the faculty’s life. During this early period, collegiality and collaboration were fuelled by the strong commitment to the faculty project. This helped the faculty members to immerse themselves in building new connections across the faculty to share knowledge and expertise. Several opportunities for joint projects were forged and brought to fruition. The enthusiasm of the early days helped to overcome and transcend any differences when these arose. Although the enthusiasm of the early days of the faculty’s life might wane over time, it is vital that the strong dedication to collegiality and collaboration do not.

Students are a primary focus of the Faculty for Social Wellbeing. They are in many ways its raison d’être. The faculty prides itself with a population of around 1,000 students who are reading for degrees in a broad spectrum of subject areas at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The flourishing growth of the courses of studies of the first-decade merit evaluation and the consolidation of areas of strength. As is usual practice, this process will undoubtedly be enriched through the participation of present and past students and key stakeholders in the sector. The faculty does not only attend to students’ academic development; it has always given attention to students’ wellness and their growth as persons. This likewise merits taking forward.

A striking feature of the Faculty for Social Wellbeing has been its ability to not only respond to national debates but to also push social concerns onto the national agenda. This is a role that the faculty should continue to foster especially in relation to social issues where it has developed specialist scholarship which could inform policy development and practice.

This reciprocal relationship with the community we serve is a vital lifeline for the faculty to continue to have relevance. The faculty has laid good foundations for more opportunities for co-production with members of the community in terms of both teaching and research. These foundations should serve well for more ambitious projects of deep collaboration with the community.

Although the road ahead might be steep and fraught with many challenges, I am convinced that the Faculty for Social Wellbeing has built sufficient reserves to face the future with confidence.