ICON’s collaboration with Victim Support Malta has officially kicked-off and we’re thrilled to embark on our new CSR journey in Malta. The collaboration was initiated by the Social Impact Awards to which ICON confirmed that it will donate €10,000 worth of digital marketing services. Victim Support Malta’s ‘Project Watch Out’ was one of the winning initiatives at the Awards, and we’re pleased to be working on this exciting project for safer communities in Malta.
ICON met with Victim Support Malta to understand how they felt about winning the Social Impact Awards and the opportunity to work with ICON’s digital marketing team on ‘Project Watch Out’:
‘Project Watch Out’ was selected as one of the winners of the Social Impact Awards, how does Victim Support Malta feel about the win?
We are thrilled that ‘Project Watch Out’ was selected as one of the winners of the Social Impact Awards. We believed in the project from the start and we knew it had potential. However, with so many interesting and innovative projects contending for the Awards, we didn’t really know what to expect. In light of the fierce competition, we are even more pleased with this achievement, and cannot wait to get started.
Photo: Sean Mallia
ICON will be contributing €10,000 worth of digital marketing services and consultation to ‘Project Watch Out’. What does ICON’s support mean to VSM and the initiative?
We are excited and grateful that ICON will be collaborating with us on this project. We recently held a kick-off meeting with the digital marketing team at ICON, and it is already apparent that their contribution and input will be invaluable. It is a relief to be able to rely on such expertise!
How can ICON best help VSM to improve its digital presence?
We have made a lot of progress in recent months; we have started organizing events and promoting them online, we have produced a couple of short awareness-raising videos, started a blog and published our first ever newsletter. However, we do not have the full picture of our digital presence. We don’t really know how popular our website is, and whether it ranks high or low in terms of keyword search. We think ICON can help us familiarize ourselves with the broader picture and assist us in improving the extent and impact of our reach.
With our digital marketing expertise and your experience of social projects, what does VSM hope we can achieve together?
Firstly, we hope to make Project Watch Out a success. We really believe in the project’s potential, and we are convinced that with ICON’s support, Project WO will achieve more impact. We also hope that through this project and thanks to our collaboration with ICON, we will make more people aware of our organisations and the services we offer to victims of crime.
Photo: Sean Mallia
Project Watch Out – for safer communities in Malta
Project Watch Out is an initiative for implementing neighbourhood watch within our communities. The overall goal of the project is to see neighbourhood watch schemes implemented in at least 5 high-crime localities in Malta, such as Swieqi, St. Julian’s and Bugibba. To achieve this goal, the project was split into two phases, one focusing on training and the other on implementation.
Through the Social Impact Awards, VSM managed to secure funding for the first phase of the project. In the beginning of 2017, an experienced trainer named Lianne Taylor will fly down from the UK to deliver specialised training on neighbourhood watch to VSM staff members; VSM will in turn engage 10 high-crime localities in order to deliver the training to community members.
The idea is to get community members to be more involved in the life of their community, as well as provide them with the skills and know-how to set up and run a neighbourhood watch in their area. Research shows that neighbourhood watch schemes can effectively help reduce crime, and more broadly, enhance safety and wellbeing in the community. VSM is convinced that neighbourhood watch schemes can positively impact Maltese society, contributing to preventing crime and building social capital.
Commenting on the project, Ms. Isotta Rossoni, PR and Project Coordinator stated:
“When it comes to raising awareness, defending a worthy cause is not enough – ‘packaging‘ it, promoting it & conveying the message is essential to make an impact. ICON is helping us promote our upcoming project, ‘Project Watch Out’ as well as our organisation, in creative & innovative ways. We are excited to be working with such great professionals. After just a few months, we can already notice how VSM is benefiting from this support”
Ms. Isotta Rossoni
PR and Project Coordinator
Victim Support Malta
Learn more about ICON’s CSR initiatives here.
Tags: Digital Marketing, Malta, Social Impact Awards