From confrontation to dialogue : a speech delivered by Professor Edward Zammit on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the foundation of the Centre for Labour Studies at the University of Malta

Abstract

When it comes to commemorating the planting of a seed and tracing its development over almost half a century, one might be tempted to indulge in feelings of nostalgia. Actually, it is not my intention today to indulge in such an exercise of sentimentality because I rather believe it is our duty to assess and evaluate objectively whether that original seed has actually grown into a healthy tree with strong roots and wholesome fruit. I believe that this would be a more useful exercise from which may emerge some lessons for the future. Hence, I would like to start by glancing at the original environment in which this Centre was conceived, its original aims, the way these aims were perceived and concretised over the years. Then one may look at the Centre’s main achievements, what stage has been reached so far and look ahead at what I personally regard as the challenges which the Centre is confronting now and in the foreseeable future.