Godfrey Baldacchino (born 25 April 1960) PhD is a Maltese and Canadian social scientist. He is Pro Rector (International Development) and Professor of Sociology at the University of Malta. Since January 2016, he is the UNESCO Co-Chair in Island Studies and Sustainability at UPEI (in partnership with the University of Malta). He is former Director of the Centre for Labour Studies at the University of Malta and is the current chairman. With Alexander Gatt, Baldacchino founded the Students Astronomical Circle (SAC) in 1978. In 1984, he was elected as the first President of The Malta Astronomical Society which resulted from the merger of the SAC and the Astronomical Association of Malta. He was inscribed as Honorary Life Member of the Malta Astronomical Society in 2015.
Baldacchino is founding Vice-President of the University of Malta Academic Staff Association (UMASA) and was elected as member of the Council of the University of Malta for the period 2001-2003. As Chair of the Malta Board of Cooperatives (1998–2003), Prof. Baldacchino presided over a doubling of registered cooperative societies.
He has provided consultancy to the Malta Prime Minister and various other Ministers on: the self-management system at Malta Drydocks, the Student Stipend Scheme, the workings of the Malta Employment and Training Corporation, a code of practice for worker-directors, and the Planning Council's plans for the South of Malta. He has also offered his consultancy services to the General Workers' Union, the Malta Employers' Association, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association and the Unjon Haddiema Maghqudin. Baldacchino was elected President of the International Small Islands Studies Association in 2014 and Chair of the Scientific Board of RETI, the Network of Island Universities, in 2015. He is the founding editor of Island Studies Journal, former director of Global Islands Network, and a member of the Island Commission of the International Geographical Union (IGU).
Baldacchino has served as visiting professor to tertiary education institutions in Australia, Barbados, Fiji, Iceland, Mauritius, Seychelles and Sweden. He has also been invited to deliver papers, guest lectures and/or keynotes in Åland, Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, St Lucia, Taiwan, Trinidad & Tobago, the UK and USA. His academic work has appeared in French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Swedish (and apart from English and Maltese). With Elaine Stratford and Elizabeth McMahon, he is Editor of the Rethinking the Island book series with Rowman and Littlefield International.
Publications
Books written
- Introducing Social Studies: A Maltese Reader 3rd edition. Malta: Miller Distributors, 2011.(previous editions: 1988, 2000). ISBN 978-9932-8681-3-1, 399pp
- Ninvestigaw is-Socjeta, (Investigating Society). 3rd edition. Malta: Miller Distributors, 2011 (previous editions: 1997, 1999). ISBN 978-99932-86-82-0.
- Island Enclaves: Offshoring Strategies, Creative Governance and Subnational Island Jurisdictions. Montreal QC: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-7735-3716-3(cloth); 978-0-7735-3743-9(paper), 301pp.
- Global Tourism & Informal Labour Relations: The Small Scale Syndrome at Work. London: Mansell, 1997. ISBN 0-7201-2248-1.
Books edited
- (with Kelly Vodden and Ryan Gibson). Place Peripheral: Place-Based Development in Rural, Island and Remote Regions. St John’s NL: ISER Press, 2015. 340pp. ISBN 978-1-894725-25-5.
- Archipelago Tourism: Policies and Practices. Farnham: Ashgate, 2015. ISBN 978-1-4724-2430-3. 248pp.
- The Political Economy of Divided Islands: Unified Geographies, Multiple Polities. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013, ISBN 978-1-137-02312-4, 256pp
- (with Anna Baldacchino) A Taste of Islands: 60 Recipes and Stories from our World of Islands. Charlottetown PE: Island Studies Press, 2012. ISBN 978-0-919013-74-2, 264pp.
- Island Songs: A Global Repertoire. Lanham MD: Scarecrow Press, 2011, ISBN 978-0-8108-8177-8, 297pp.
- Extreme Heritage Management: Policies and Practices from Densely Populated Islands. New York & Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2012. ISBN 978-085745259-7, 274pp.
- (with Daniel Niles) Island Futures: Conservation and Development across the Asia-Pacific Region. Tokyo, Japan: Springer, 2011. ISBN 978-4-431-53988-9, 182pp.
- (with Rob Greenwood and Lawrence Felt) Remote Control: Governance Lessons for and from Small, Insular and Remote Regions. St John’s NL: ISER Press, 2009, ISBN 978-1-894725-08-8, 309pp.
- (with David Milne) The Case for Non-Sovereignty: Lessons from Sub-National Island Jurisdictions. London: Routledge. 2008, ISBN 978-0-415-45550-3, 176pp.
- (with Kathleen Stuart) Pulling Strings: Policy Insights for Prince Edward Island from other Sub-National Island Jurisdictions. Charlottetown, PEI, Island Studies Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0-919013-54-4, 198pp. Book Launch video here:
- Bridging Islands: The Impact of Fixed Links. Charlottetown, Canada: Acorn Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-894838-24-5, 284pp.
- A World of Islands: An Island Studies Reader. Canada and Malta: Institute of Island Studies & Agenda Academic. 2007. ISBN 978-99932-86-10-3, 640pp.
- Extreme Tourism: Lessons from the World's Cold Water Islands. Oxford: Elsevier Science, 2006. ISBN 0-08-044656-6, 291pp.
- (with Antoinette Caruana and Mario Grixti) Managing People in Malta: Case Studies in Local Human Resource Management Practice. Malta: Agenda Publishers and Foundation for Human Resources Development, 2003.
- (with Charles J. Farrugia) Educational Management and Planning in Small States: Concepts and Experiences. London: Commonwealth Secretariat, 2002. ISBN 0-85092-729-3, 305pp.
- (with David Milne): Lessons from the Political Economy of Small Islands: The Resourcefulness of Jurisdiction. Basingstoke and New York: Macmillan and St Martin's Press, 2000. ISBN 0-333-77817-0, 267pp.
- (with Robert Greenwood) Competing Strategies of Socio-Economic Development for Small Islands. Charlottetown, Canada: Institute of Island Studies, University of Prince Edward Island, 1998. ISBN 0-919013-23-6
- (with Peter Mayo) Beyond Schooling: Adult Education in Malta. Msida, Malta: Mireva, 1997. ISBN 1-870579-55-0
- (with Klitos Symeonides) Cyprus and Malta on the Threshold of the European Union: Challenges to Workers and Trade Unions. Nicosia, Cyprus: Government Press, 1996.
- (with Saviour Rizzo and Edward L. Zammit) Co-operative Ways of Working. Msida, Malta: Workers` Participation Development Centre & Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, 1994.
- (with Ronald G. Sultana) Maltese Society: A Sociological Inquiry. Msida, Malta: Mireva, 1994. ISBN 1-870579-24-0.