Study Visit: Improving EU communication activities

SEM organises a two-day visit for a delegation from the Ministry of Finance of Lithuania

On September 14 and 15, SEM organised a two-day study visit for a delegation from the Ministry of Finance of Lithuania. Jovita Valeikaite La Ferrera, Arunas Malinovskis and Ilma Skukauskaite, Communications Officers at the Ministry, had the opportunity to learn about the communication strategy employed by SEM and the Secretariat for European Funds when it comes to communicating on EU Funds.

The delegation met SEM CEO, Denise Fiorentino and with Head of Communications and Outreach, Joe Sciberras who spoke of how the Agency communicates on EU funds in several ways and how it assists several individuals, entities and organisations and target groups to apply for EU funds and to implement their projects successfully.

Mr Joenick Farrugia, Chief Coordinator at the Strategy and Implementation Division shared insights on the process of simplification and mainstreaming of communications, in particular through the single website for EU funds in Malta – fondi.eu.

The delegation also had the opportunity to meet two officers from the Energy and Water Agency and from Wasteserv respectively, to get to know first-hand about their EU funded projects and campaigns. Officers shared their modes of communication to sensitise and encourage the public to apply sustainable practices in their daily lives, in order to save on water and energy consumption as well as to move to practices that contribute to a circular economy and better waste management.

On their second day, the delegation met with the Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds, Mr Jonathan Vassallo, to discuss good practices by both Ministries when it comes to communicating on EU funds.

With the support of Heritage Malta, the Lithuanian delegation visited EU-funded projects, namely MUŻA, Fort St Elmo and Tarxien Temples. They also visited the National Youth Agency – Aġenzija Żgħażagħ – to get to know more about their EU-funded projects and about Eurodesk which the Agency hosts.

The study visit was organised by the European Commission and SEM as a TAIEX-REGIO Peer2Peer scheme that enables staff of programme authorities and other public bodies involved in managing and implementing EU funding programmes to meet and exchange knowledge and good practice on both a bilateral and multilateral level.