There is a clear need to invest in and cultivate more third places where individuals can gather, build relationships, and foster meaningful social connections, Nationalist MP Ivan Bartolo told The Malta Independent on Tuesday.
A ‘third place’ refers to informal, community-driven public spaces separate from home (first place) and work (second place).
Bartolo, whose shadow ministerial portfolio includes loneliness, believes that investment in third places would help people struggling with loneliness and isolation.
“We need third places to strengthen the contact between communities,” Bartolo said. “These places are important because they strengthen a sense of community, promote social inclusion, and offer a safe space where people can meet in an informal manner”.
When asked to provide some examples of what such third places would look like, Bartolo pointed to the space provided by the Valletta Design Cluster, which is a place where freelancers, artists and members of the community meet to share ideas. He also mentioned MaYa Collective, a community space in Żebbuġ that hosts yoga sessions, workshops and activities related to welfare and personal development.
This comes after the Malta’s Social Justice Week 2026, which concluded with Bartolo’s presentation of the Opposition’s Private Member’s Bill on Loneliness. It is aimed at addressing solitude and social isolation through a coordinated national strategy, comprehensive education reform, and strengthened regulation of social media use among minors.
The bill incorporates a provision to oversee and manage a fund called the “Social Connection Fund,” which is designated to support voluntary organizations that establish and operate third places – such as community hubs, clubs, and intergenerational programs – in collaboration with the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector. Bartolo said that this measure would form part of a national strategy on connectivity.
Bartolo stressed the importance of such initiatives due to Malta’s increasing problem of loneliness. A study by Azzopardi et al. revealed that in 2019, 43.4% of the Maltese population reported some degree of loneliness, and this figure rose to 54.6% in 2022.
“In the Maltese context, where community and personal relationships are strong values, third places have an essential role in everyday life,” Bartolo said.