Active citizens take an active role in society and help make it a better place. Here Moviment Graffitti’s Andre Callus explains why it’s important to encourage people to make this leap and get involved.

As Robert Swain said in his famous quote: ‘The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it’. And that’s exactly what active citizenship is all about – being the change you want to see in the world, and getting involved in causes that mean something to you.

Locally, well-known group Moviment Graffitti often sets the pace when it comes to active citizenship. The pressure group helps to mobilise people and get them involved, whether that’s by showing solidarity with particular nations or protesting against causes of national importance.

“At Moviment Graffitti we tackle active citizenship in a number of different ways,” explains Andre Callus, a member of the organisation. “Things aren’t tackled from a political party perspective, but we do target issues that we believe need work – whether that’s equality, social justice or the environment.”

Andre explains that active citizenship is all about taking responsibility for the world around you and trying to shape it into a better place.  “Being active in this way is very important,” he says. “We cannot just leave the world in the hands of our politicians and assume that everything will be OK. We cannot rely on them and let them take decisions that affect our lives. Those in power only consider the interests of a handful of people, while active citizenship aims to ensure power is distributed equally among everyone.”

Education is also an important part of Moviment Graffitti’s role – but this mostly takes the form of raising awareness. “Mobilising people is all about helping them to understand the consequences of doing nothing and making them feel passionate about things currently happening in the world – and how they can make them better. We don’t just want people to be educated, passive recipients of knowledge; we want them to become more involved and to work towards a more equal world.”

Andre cites a recent local example of active citizenship: the events that took place on Manoel Island earlier this year, when protestors grew angry about the fact the island had been blocked off illegally for 16 years. “A number of groups – including Moviment Graffitti – got together to break gates and cut fences open, thus granting access to this part of Malta. Hundreds of people were mobilised, including local residents, and it was fantastic to see the results – the entities in question surrendered to pressure and Manoel Island has since been opened to the public.”

Andre stresses that, while it’s OK to simply write on social media and vent frustrations on other platforms, it’s much more valuable to join a cause and be active. “Nothing will change miraculously,” he says. “When people realise that they can fight for their rights, then we end up with a better Malta and a better world.”

And encouraging active citizenship is essentially about encouraging people to get involved – which is easy to do as there are a number of groups to join and causes to fight for. “If you don’t want to join a group, then simply get passionate about what’s going on around you, change your attitude to political parties, think critically and consider ways to change the things you don’t like. Nothing is matter of fact in life, you do have the power to make a difference,” he adds.

For more information about Moviment Graffitti and signing up, email info@movimentgraffitti.org or join their group on Facebook.