Dr Helena Dalli
Minister, Ministry for European Affairs and Equality
Dr Helena Dalli was appointed minister for European Affairs and Equality following the general election of the 3rd of June 2017. First elected to Parliament in 1996, she served as Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister between 1996 and 1998. She was subsequently re-elected to Parliament in 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2017 - making Dr. Dalli’s experience in the Maltese Parliament one of the longest, held by a woman in Maltese politics and the only woman to be elected from two districts in the interest of the Labour Party. During the 2013-2017 legislature she was minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties. Under her direction the Government introduced several laws and policies to strengthen the equality and human rights framework placing Malta among the first in Europe in this field. Helena Dalli holds a PhD in Political Sociology and lectures in Economic and Political Sociology, Public Policy, and Sociology of Law at the University of Malta. In 2016 Minister Dalli was the first Maltese nominee and winner of the European Diversity Award for her work in human rights and equality at the local and international level.
Joseph Camilleri
Permanent Secretary - Administration, Ministry for European Affairs and Equality
Mr. Camilleri joined the Public Service on the 1st of July 1977. From 1977 to 1996 he held various positions within the Department of Social Security, mainly in the contributory benefits division. From 1996 to 2003 Mr. Camilleri held the post of Assistant Director (Contributory Benefits). During the same period he also carried out the duties of Acting Director (Social Security) in the absence of the incumbent Director at the time. In January 2004 he was appointed designate Director (Corporate Services) within the Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity and Director (Corporate Services) on the 29th April 2004. Seven months later, he was laterally moved to the post of Director (Social Security) whilst continuing to fill in the post of Director (Corporate Services) until the appointment of a new Director (Corporate Services). In March 2007 he was appointed Director General (Social Security). In 2013 Mr. Camilleri was appointed Permanent Secretary responsible for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties and re-appointed to the same position in March 2017. In June 2017 Mr. Camilleri was appointed Permanent Secretary-Administration responsible for European Affairs and Equality. Mr Camilleri is Chairman of the Re-instatement and Re-employment of Public Officers, a member of the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee and Chairman of the Low Wage Commission.
Dr JosAnn Cutajar
University of Malta and Ministry for European Affairs and Equality
JosAnn Cutajar has had the opportunity to study in some of the best universities in the English speaking world. After obtaining a Masters in Sociology in Education from the Institute of Education, University of London, Cutajar won a scholarship to study for a Masters in Contemporary European Studies at the University of Sussex. In 1997 she won a Commonwealth scholarship which enabled her to study for a Ph.D. in Sociology and Equity Studies in Education at OISE, University of Toronto. Dr Cutajar is at present the acting head of the Gender Studies Department at the University of Malta. Her lectures focus on feminist epistemologies, feminist research methods, community development, and social justice. In 2013 she was appointed Director of the University of Malta’s Cottonera Resource Centre. The remit of this Centre is to promote education in a formal and non-formal way in a socially deprived area with the intention of enabling people from this area to further their education. For this project she received the 2016 EPALE award in community outreach. As a trustee within the President's Trust, she is also involved in community activism . Where gender and policy are concerned, she was part of the Commission for the Advancement of Women within the Ministry for Social Policy and Gender Issues Committee within the University of Malta between 2000-2004. At the moment she is the coordinator of the Consultative Council for Women's Rights within the Ministry for European Affairs and Equality.
Renee Laiviera
Commissioner, National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE)
Ms Renee Laiviera is currently the Commissioner of the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) and NCPE's Acting Executive Director. Ms Laiviera has held a number of management positions in the Malta Public Service since 1998 when she was appointed Director (Women’s Rights). She also held positions on a number of government commissions and committees. She has been active in NGOs for many years and up till May 2013 held the position of Executive Member of the European Women’s Lobby and that of the Chairperson of the Malta Confederation of Women’s Organisations. In March 2007, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, Ambassador Molly H. Bordonaro, on behalf of The Embassy of the United States of America in Malta, honoured her for exceptional ‘courage and leadership in advocating for women’s rights and advancement in Malta. She started her career in the education field, continued to study management, political studies and reading for an MA in Maltese studies with a dissertation on gender and human rights.
