Charity without propaganda

In today's Malta Independent, I argue that charity events like Malta’s L-Istrina should focus on genuine giving and solidarity rather than serving as platforms for political or self-promotional spectacle, while also calling for greater dignity, transparency, and accountability in how charitable fundraising is practiced.

Read the article here

Għadna Għaddejjin - Peklektru's new album release

'Għadna Għaddejjin', Peklektru's new album, will be released on 5 February. Four lyric-videos from the album have already been released and the album will be available on Bandcamp and on major streaming services.

Recording the drums for this album with David Vella at Temple Studios was a blast, and it was an honour to feature on the songs with Patrick Galea himself and bassist Ivan Borg. The run-up to the album was particularly intriguing as I did my best to articulate a loyal interpretation to Patrick's compositions through my drumming. 

I also play the drums on Peklektru's recent singles 'Mandragreen' (2025) and 'Ejja Sibni' (2023), as well as on his album 'Reclaiming Space' (2007), under his previous moniker Peklectrick. Patrick was also a co-founder of my band Dripht, and we had recorded our first EP together in 2004.

You can read Peklektru's press release on Melodija.eu, here

My discography - here 

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Għadna Għaddejjin - Peklektru (2026)

Lyrics and music: Patrick Galea
Bass: Ivan Borg
Drums: Michael Briguglio

Production, mixing, and mastering: David Vella, Temple Studios

One To One - Season 7 - Updated Weekly

One To One covers social, political, environmental, and cultural topics, and guests are experts in their respective fields. 

One to One is hosted by Prof Michael Briguglio and is broadcast on Campus 103.7.  The programmes are also available in on-demand format and are uploaded on the Open Access Repository, University of Malta .

Topics and guests for Season 7 (January - March 2026)

1. L-Imdina saret theme park? Amy Galea

2. X'futur għandha l-agrikoltura? Malcolm Borg

3. Il-ħidma soċjali u l-fostering - John Role'

4. Il-Prodott Turistiku - Philip Fenech

5. L-ADPD fejn sejra? Sandra Gauci

6. L-AI ser tieħu postna? Alexiei Dingli

7. Drittijiet LGBTIQ - Wasalna? Robert Attard

8. L-Isfidi tal-Kunsilli Lokali - Mario Fava

9. L-Open Day tal-Junior College - Roberto Calleja

10. X'hemm differenti fil-Partit Momentum? 

(This list is updated every week)

Topics and guests for Season 1 (July-September 2024) - Click here

Topics and guests for Season 2 (October - December 2024) - Click here

Topics and guests for Season 3 (January - March 2025) - Click here

Topics and guests for Season 4 (April - June 2025) - Click here

Topics and guests for Season 5 (July - September 2025) - Click here

Topics and guests for Season 6 (October - December 2025) - Click here

75 Years of the International Social Science Journal

The International Social Science Journal, of which I am Associate Editor, is celebrating its 75th year. 

Thus, a anniversary Special Issue has been published, demonstrating the journal's long-standing commitment to interdisciplinary inquiry and public-facing scholarship. The Special Issue brings together economic, psychological, sociological, environmental and practice-based perspectives to understand how individuals and communities navigate new pressures and reimagine collectivity and future.

The special issue includes an editorial of which I am co-author in my capacity as guest editor:

Messina, B.C., Briguglio, M., Freire, D., Gard, R., Ocakli, B.O., Schermer, J.A. and Qiu, S. (2025), Social Well-Being in an Unsettled World: 75 Years of the International Social Science Journal. Int Soc Sci.. https://doi-org.ejournals.um.edu.mt/10.1111/issj.70031

For a peopled Blue Economy in Malta's Vision 2050

 

Read my opinion in the Malta Independent here. I also submitted this feedback to Malta's Vision 2050 Public Consultation.

One To One - Season 6 - Updated Weekly

 

One To One covers social, political, environmental, and cultural topics, and guests are experts in their respective fields. 

One to One is hosted by Prof Michael Briguglio and is broadcast on Campus 103.7.  The programmes are also available in on-demand format and are uploaded on the Open Access Repository, University of Malta .

Topics and guests for Season 6 (October - December 2025)

1. L-Immaġinazjoni Soċjoloġika fir-Retro - Noel Agius

2. Tista' tkun Konservattiv Soċjali? Jake Muscat

3. X'qed tipproponi l-Kamra tal-Kummerċ għall-Budget? William Spiteri Bailey

4. Jista' jkollna akkomodazzjoni affordabbli? Jake Azzopardi

5. Il-Ħsejjes u s-Soċjeta' - Daniel Gafa'

6. X'jagħmlu l-għaqdiet komunitarji? Sara Mari Cardona

7. X'inhi l-ekwita' soċjali? Nadia Abdilla

8. Il-liġi tista' tipproteġi l-ambjent? Claire Bonello

9. X'inhi l-politika soċjali? Andrea Dibben

10. Id-dieta Mediterranja u l-obeżità f'Malta: Kontradizzjoni? Suzanne Piscopo

11. X'inhu r-rambling? Romano Cassar

12. L-MCESD: X'impatt għandu? Brendan Zerafa

13. It-tfal u l-edukazzjoni ambjentali - Jane Spiteri

(This list is updated every week)

Topics and guests for Season 1 (July-September 2024) - Click here

Topics and guests for Season 2 (October - December 2024) - Click here

Topics and guests for Season 3 (January - March 2025) - Click here

Topics and guests for Season 4 (April - June 2025) - Click here

Topics and guests for Season 5 (July - September 2025) - Click here

The Real Estateisation of Marsascala?

 Tourism, Real Estate, and Urban Pressures: The case of Marsascala, Malta -  

Paper by Agius Karl, Briguglio Michael and Bermúdez Pérez Jorge Luis -  published in Open Research Europe -  an open access publishing venue for European Commission-funded researchers.

This paper examines the urban transformation of Marsascala, a coastal town in Malta, through the lens of tourism development and its social repercussions. Engaging with Young’s (1983) model of touristization and landscape change, and drawing from qualitative interviews, field observations, orthophoto analysis, and secondary data, the study traces the town’s evolution from a fishing village to a site of intensive tourism consolidation. Findings reveal how population growth—driven by tourism and foreign labour—has led to overdevelopment, infrastructural strain, and a declining quality of life. Building on empirical insights, the authors propose a novel seventh stage in Young’s model: real estateisation, wherein real estate speculation and short-term rentals reconfigure coastal localities beyond tourism. Marsascala thus becomes a case study in understanding the entanglements between tourism, migration, housing, and urban change. The paper contributes to debates on sustainable tourism, the Blue Economy, and the need for integrated social impact assessments in coastal governance.This paper is linked to the EU Cost Action CA221222 Rethinking the Blue Economy: Socio-Ecological Impacts and Opportunities (RethinkBlue), in relation to the themes covered by Working Group 3 - Port cities & coastal communities.

Link to paper: https://open-research-europe.ec.europa.eu/articles/4-183/v2

Map prepared for the authors by Andrea Pace

#Ħsibijiet 121: Malta, Environmental democracy, Aarhus Convention

Next November, the Eighth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention, fifth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on PRTRs, their joint High-level Segment and associated meetings will be held in Geneva. 

Key themes of this meeting include environmental democracy and public participation in decision-making. It will be interesting to see the Government of Malta's stance and action in this regard, particularly in  relation to its proposed changes in Malta's planning policy and legislation. 

In the meantime, and in preparation for this meeting, the twenty-ninth meeting of the Working Group of the Parties to the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters was recently held in Geneva.

Summer heatwaves: A wake-up call for sustainability and justice

In yesterday's Malta Independent I give a sociological perspective about the summer heatwaves being experienced in the Malta, the Mediterranean, and beyond. 

You can read the article here. 

New Publication: Rethinking the Blue Economy: Integrating social science for sustainability and justice

The following open access article has just been published in Nature journal NPJ Ocean Sustainability:

Penca, J., Ertör, I., Ballesteros, M., Briguglio, M., Kowalewski, M., Pauksztat, B.,Cepić, D., Piñeiro-Corbeira, C., Vaidianu, N.,  Villasante,S. & Pascual-Fernández, JJ. (2025) Rethinking the Blue Economy: Integrating social science for sustainability and justice. npj Ocean Sustain 4, 40. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-025-00138-1

The article argues that to fulfill the Blue Economy’s promise of sustainable and just ocean use, its scientific foundation must more fully integrate the social sciences. Drawing on insights from real-world scientific networking initiatives, we identify three key contributions of the social sciences and propose a strategy to redefine the Blue Economy. This strategy anchors knowledge in societal challenges and emphasizes co-creation, the science-policy interface, knowledge integration, and the values of accountability and care.

This article is based upon work from COST Action CA22122 “Rethinking the Blue Economy: Socio-Ecological Impacts and Opportunities” (RethinkBlue), supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology).