Malta's EU membership and civil society : a case study of the Scout Association of Malta

Abstract

Scouts are a worldwide movement for young people meant to support their physical, mental and spiritual development, mainly through adventure and surviving skills, so as to form them into responsible citizens. The Scout Movement in Malta is represented by the Scout Association of Malta, hereafter referred to as the Association. This study will focus on these research questions in order to be able to examine the aims mentioned above: (1) Has membership in the European Union allowed different Scout Groups within the Scout Association of Malta to access more funds to expand their opportunities with other European scout groups in the EU member states? (2) Are Scout Groups in Malta cooperating with the Scout Association of Malta to maximise the opportunities given by the European Union to youth organisations? (3) Are Scout Groups in Malta cooperating with other European counterparts? Thus, the main components of this study are the relationships of the Association with other European Scouts and the European funds which were granted to the Association by the European Commission to organise youth exchanges and other initiatives. While researching for this dissertation proposal, the lack of research on the Scout Association of Malta was evident so this created a challenge. For this reason, this study presents the findings from a series of interviews which were conducted with the administrators of the Association. Furthermore, data from the Island Headquarters of the Association and data from the European Commission's website was obtained. As an active member of the Scout Association of Malta since 2004, the year Malta joined the EU, I consider myself as being passionate for both scouting and European values. This dissertation is a confirmation of my interests and I did my best to outline the effects of Malta's membership in the EU on the Scout Association of Malta.