[WATCH] Child-friendly version of the Constitution planned

A child-friendly version of the Constitution is being planned by the committee for awareness on the Constitution, committee chair Franco Debono said earlier today. 

The committee launched a website dedicated to informing the public about the Constitution this morning, with President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca in attendance.

Debono explained that the Committee was already in talks with the well known children's writer Trevor Zahra, who was also present at the committee's consultation.

Debono explained that the committee had been created as a response to the perceived need to better inform the public about the importance of the Constitution. 

"How can the people participate in the reform of the Constitution if they are not aware of its importance to their identity and needs?" Debono added. 

He stressed that raising children with an ingrained love and awareness for their rights was an essential part of creating more participation and of therefore creating a truly comprehensive constitution. 

Addressing the committee members present, Coleiro Preca pledged her support for the project and stressed that children are the future and that the initiative was unparalleled.

"It is a pity so few know about the development that has made us the self-governing nation we are today," Coleiro Preca said. 

She added that Malta had been avant garde in this respect and that the public needed to understand how the Constitution identifies us from other countries. 

"The Constitution is the highest reflection of the public aspirations so we need to update it constantly," she said, praising the committee and its efforts to reach out, even to children. 

"Children are our present and they need to have a safe space to speak up but that requires an awareness of their rights, needs and desires."

She said that she had already spoken about the need to raise more common knowledge of the Constitution back in April. 

"The public holds its identity dear and this project is therefore necessary and timely."

Debono explained that the committee had already raised awareness about the Constitution through a number of television spots about Sette Giugno, but that the public needed to be made more aware about its history and identity

He added that a website for the reform would also be launched in the coming days. The committe also aimed to send an abridged version of the constitution  to each family in the coming months, he said.