In early December, EASPD participated in the conference “My Life: Development of a National Framework for Lifelong Individual Support Plans for Persons with Disabilities”, organised by our member Agenzija Sapport in Malta. The event brought together policymakers, service providers, academics, and self-advocates to explore how Individual Support Plans (ISPs) can become a cornerstone for inclusive, person-centred support throughout life.

EASPD contributed to the discussion by inviting two international experts:

• Katie McVey (Enable Scotland) shared insights on the Personal Assistant (PA) model in Scotland and how Enable transformed its services to empower independent living.
• Estelle Houtart (EASPD) presented the international framework for ISPs and provided updates on EU policies supporting Independent Living.

The conference featured:

• A keynote address by the Minister for Inclusion and Voluntary Sector, Hon Julia Farrugia.
• A presentation from Agenzija Sapport’s CEO, Oliver Scicluna, outlining their vision for a future national ISP model.
• An inspiring talk by Prof. Alexiei Dingli on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can transform ISPs from static documents into dynamic, interactive tools.
• A panel discussion with several stakeholders form the ground highlighting real-life challenges and opportunities for innovation.

Key Takeaways

• ISPs are essential tools for ensuring coordination across education, health, social, and employment services, guaranteeing continuity throughout life.
• They must be co-produced, centred on the person’s needs, aspirations and strengths, regularly updated, and inclusive of family and community contexts.
• AI offers promising solutions to reduce administrative burden, enabling professionals to spend more quality time with individuals. It can also analyse data to identify patterns and support better human decision-making, without replacing care workers.

As Agenzija Sapport’s CEO stated: “Service providers have to be optimistically critical about themselves”, meaning recognise there are always areas of improvement and innovation.

This conference marks an important step towards building lifelong, person-centred support systems in Malta and across Europe. EASPD remains committed to supporting such amazing initiatives.