The Civil Society Committee was formally constituted during a meeting held on 28th August 2012. During this meeting Mr Benjamin Rizzo was elected as the first Chairperson of the Civil Society Committee (CSC).
In addition to his new position, Mr. Rizzo will also become a member (ex officio) of the MCESD. The CSC Chairperson, and his substitute, are expected to join the MCESD during its next meeting of this Organisation.
The procedures for the setting up of the Civil Society Committee were necessary following the approval by Parliament of Act No IV of 2012, which amends the Act whereby the MCESD was set up (Act XV of 2001, as amended by Legal Notice 426 of 2007); and the subsequent publication of Legal Notice 206 of 2012.
The Bill which subsequently became Act No IV of 2012, was submitted and piloted through Parliament by Chris Said, Minister for Justice, Dialogue and the Family and was given unanimous approval by the House on the 2nd May 2012.
The Civil Society Committee is composed of eleven (11) delegates (and their substitutes) which represent the following sectors:
Consumer affairs;
Health, elderly and pensioners;
Gender equality;
Professions;
Sports;
Agriculture, rural and fisheries, Environmental protection and improvement, including the protection of animals, culture, arts and national heritage;
Persons with disability;
Education, social and community advancement;
Local councils; and
Other voluntary organisations which are enrolled which are not represented and which do not participate in any of the above sectors of activity within Civil Society.
Mr. Ben Rizzo is the current Vice President of the Malta Federation of Professional Associations.