Despite all the troubles caused by the global pandemic 360° still managed to host their annual conference. This year they decided to focus on the family and everything that makes it what it is, from the physiological to the psychological.
The Willingness Team and Betapsi once again curated a spectacular event that members of The Third Eye team were lucky enough to join. Clayton Seguna, Betapsi President, started off the day by welcoming everyone to the conference, introducing Betapsi, and thanking all the collaborators for making the event possible. Following that, Matthew Bartolo elaborated on the importance of discussing family, especially in 2021.
“We are breaking away from what should be, and moving onto what could be.”
Matthew Bartolo
Adding to this comment, Matthew not only described how we are breaking away from the norms set by society on what relationships and families should be but also how we are celebrating this change.
The role of family in gender transitions
In her keynote speech, Ruth Micallef set the pace of the entire conference by taking us through the transition process of her son. By being transparent Ruth allowed us to better understand all the aspects of this journey, from the hardships she and her son went through, to the fulfilment they received for going through them.
“You grieve the loss of your daughter until you can celebrate the birth of your son.”
Ruth Micallef
She finished off by narrating the progress they have made as a family, and how they now face new challenges such as the usual problems that come with teenagers.
Case review
Following the keynote speech, the willingness team presented a case review which encouraged a discussion on possible ways forward to deal with the issues a couple had as described by the case itself.
The review dealt with Saviour and Felicity, a couple who decided to seek help after Saviour was experiencing sleeping difficulties. The discussion was led by Danica Cassar who went into detail about the issues the couple was facing and highlighted other contributing factors in the case, such as each individual’s background. After the stage was set, a variety of input was given by people involved in the case such as Dr Candace Adams, and by participants alike, who continued to add their own insights into the case. Some of the suggestions were to look into things like financial stressors and even the couple’s intimacy.
The case study was wrapped up with each speaker giving final comments in their respective area, from health to relationship psychology.
Same-sex parenting
After a series of workshops, Noel and Chris from TwoPapasMalta described their life together as a family. They recounted every step of the way from when how they met, to the day they got married in 2016, and even when they were amongst the few same-sex couples to adopt from Portugal in 2019.
“Our objective is to promote awareness about same-sex families and to inspire others who might eventually embark on the adoption journey.”
Noel and Chris
Noel and Chris gave a variety of insights about the adoption process and continued to elaborate on how their family functions very similarly to a heterosexual one, without the need to distinguish between a male or female role within the household.
Conclusion
Matthew Bartolo brought an end to the conference by celebrating the 94 attendees present at the conference, stating that the online nature of the event made it particularly unique from the other ones. He wrapped everything up by providing more information about the newly released Family Clinic “where all families are welcome”.
The Third Eye would like to congratulate everyone behind 360° for hosting such a captivating conference, and look forward to whatever they have in store for the future.
Check out last year’s conference!