Decision-makers now have a steadfast way to assess the direction in which the country is going, thanks to the recently-published results of the fourth Scientific Survey on the State of the Nation.
The Survey, which was conducted by UM lecturer and statistician , was conducted among a sample of 1,064 people, representing the whole society.
Some notable findings from the survey, as Dr Marmara explained at the presentation of these results held during the National Conference on the State of the Nation and hosted by the President of Malta, Myriam Spiteri Debono, are that:
- The more time passes, the less the people feel that they need religion and political parties to make their decisions.
- The circle of trust people used to rely on is shrinking (including trust in media) and they are taking fewer risks in who they trust.
- For many people, there is a conflict between what they need and what they want - 35.2% think that foreigners are not the solution, but the people also believe that tourism is the most important sector for the continued growth of our economy (a sector which he described as particularly dependent on foreigners).
- While more people are financially better off, their expectations are changing.
The President of Malta remarked that it is important to keep track of changes in the essence of the Maltese character, not just for the various sectors that are driving the national economy, but also for institutions working among people and those aspiring to guide others at various levels of leadership.
Dr Marmara stressed on the value of first listening to the people, and then starting the discussion that this survey highly merits.
Several UM academics also gave insight on the findings through the panels of discussion that followed the presentation of the findings, namely: Prof. Alexiei Dingli, Dr Antoine Zammit, Prof. Andrew Azzopardi, Prof. Michael Briguglio, and Prof. Mario Thomas Vassallo.
