It’s International Men’s Day – the day that focuses on raising awareness about men’s health and discrimination, as well as other issues like toxic masculinity and male suicide. This year’s theme is about “making a difference” so we decided to celebrate these eight local men who are making a difference and leading by example in our society.

1. Neil Agius

Neil Agius isn’t a new name on the local scene. Neil is one of the founders of Wave of Change Malta, an environmental group that raises awareness about plastic pollution. Neil, together with Gilbert Bartolo and Richard Zerafa, swam around Malta (yes, the entire island) to do this. You can also be part of the #WaveofChange by picking up three pieces of trash, snapping a photo of your collection, and sharing it to Facebook and Instagram.

2. Bjorn Formosa

Bjorn Formosa isn’t a new name to Maltese society. The courageous man is Malta’s ALS advocate, raising awareness about the condition. He managed to build DAR Bjorn for other locals suffering from ALS, and the second home is now in the works thanks to various fundraising events and donations. Way to go!

3. Keith Marshall

Keith Marshall is one stand up guy! He’s the brains behind the Kilimanjaro Challenge Malta, a group of volunteers who will be taking on the well, erm, challenge of climbing up this mountain, all in aid of building a school in Ethiopia. How amazing is that? Previous expeditions have been successful and we wish the best of luck to the volunteers climbing up Mount Kilimanjaro come January 2020!

4. Rennie Zerafa

Rennie Zerafa, along with Dr Victor Calvagna, founded beloved charity Puttinu Cares in 2002. Rennie is a familiar and comforting face on the Maltese Islands, lending a supportive hand to families with members who suffer from cancer.

5. Raniero Borg

Raniero of Raniero’s Adventures – Live Life is a great man, and one to follow, too. Raniero teams up with different organisations to ensure that Malta’s environment is safeguarded, as it should be. He also raises awareness about things that need to be changed for a better local environment. Kudos, Raniero!

6. Jacob Cachia

Jacob Cachia, more commonly known as Malta’s Titanium Man, opened a café in Marsascala together with his mum, Sarah, which aims to help families in tough medical situations. Jacob’s Brew donates a percentage of the profits to the NGO Survivors Malta and also has a ‘pay it forward’ scheme in place that allows patrons to pass on a stamped receipt to someone in need, who can then redeem a free pot of tea or coffee and a supportive chat.

7. Andrew Schembri

Andrew Schembri is one of the co-founders and current chairman of the local environment conservation organisation Zibel, which “started out of a shared love for Malta’s natural environment and doing something to help its state,” he tells us. It’s all about less talk and more action to make Malta’s environment better. They're doing great things and Andrew is one to thank!

8. Alan Curry

Alan Curry knows the suffering of renal disease all too well through his wife Carmen, who was on dialysis for three years and also had a kidney transplant 10 years ago. In order to help his wife and other people in the same situation he started LifeCycle Malta, taking part in various challenges to raise funds for renal patients. And boy, did he!

Bonus: Pete Buttigieg

While Pete doesn’t live on our islands, he’s definitely making a difference overseas. The presidential hopeful with Maltese roots has made a difference in his hometown of Southbend as the Mayor, shedding light and tackling various issues, and now hopes to be in the White House come 2020.