New PL Candidate Is An Anthropologist Who Helped Organise A Marsa-Ħamrun Bridge Building Activity
Urban anthropologist and university lecturer Rachael Scicluna has announced she will contest the next election with the Labour Party on the second and ninth districts.
“In the spirit of solidarity, inclusion and reciprocal education, together we can foster social transformation which is created and delivered equally for the entire population,” Scicluna said when announcing her candidate. “I am committed to seek and create dialogue with everyone so that we can represent the different views and perspectives of Maltese society.”
“The core of this kind of politics is the foundations of righteousness – eagerly listening to people, and understanding their needs and desires. However, we cannot stop there and must weave these needs into measures, results and successful politics based on local realities.”
Born and raised in a housing estate in Bormla, Scicluna studied at the University of Malta before moving to the UK in 2008 to pursue a doctorate in social anthropology from the Open University and later a post-doctorate at the University of Manchester and a position as lecturer at the University of Kent.
While in the UK, Scicluna worked with local housing authorities and volunteered for the likes of Porchlight, a charity for homeless and vulnerable people, Opening Doors London, a NGO dedicated to helping LGBTIQ people older than 50, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Charity.
She returned to Malta in 2018, where she took up a role as housing, development and strategy consultant to the Ministry for Social Accommodation as well as a position as visiting lecturer at the Faculty of the Built Environment.
Shortly after her return, she helped organise Breakfast on a Bridge – a social integration project that saw Maltese and migrants people come together on a bridge between Marsa and Ħamrun to share food and bond while doing so.
“Just like good infrastructure and housing, food can be an enabler for dialogue, interaction and cohesion,” she explained.
Scicluna said she entered politics to help develop an inclusive infrastructure and ensure the nation’s urban and planning systems “put people at the centre”.
“Issues of social injustice concern me deeply, hence I seek every opportunity to create awareness – whether at an individual, social or academic level. I believe that change is possible through small steps,” she said.
“As a scholar and public figure, I have an obligation and duty to pass on knowledge. Considering that my profession is about understanding cultural behaviour by talking and listening to people, my goal is to develop and implement policies that are about the real needs, wants and desires of different groups of people.”
“My aim is to enable more accessible ways in how to reach the wider public and to understand the realities and issues that matter to each and every person. Every person matters.”
Would you like to see Racheal Scicluna get elected to Parliament?
READ NEXT: Labour President Calls For Electoral Reform Debate: ‘We Must Never Stop Asking Questions’
