Project Anchor launched

Every country depends on individuals whose roles carry heavy consequences. Surgeons making split-second decisions, CEOs steering organisations through uncertainty, teachers shaping young minds, artists and athletes performing under immense pressure, first responders placed in unpredictable situations, and public leaders making choices that affect entire communities, these are people who must operate at their best even when life becomes overwhelming.

Yet we rarely speak about the human cost of such roles. In his work across healthcare, sport, performance environments, leadership settings, education, first response, corporate life, and the political sphere, Prof. Matthew Montebello, kept seeing the same pattern. The higher the responsibility, the smaller the space to acknowledge personal struggles. Many of these individuals are expected to be composed, decisive and emotionally steady at all times. Yet behind the scenes, many experience stress, burnout, isolation, and a silent expectation to “just keep going.”

ANCHOR is a digital well-being platform designed specifically for individuals in high-consequence professions. It is built on solid, evidence-based foundations: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, mindfulness, and performance psychology.

It offers micro-practices, journaling prompts, reflective tools, and values-based exercises tailored to each profession’s demands, whether medical, artistic, athletic, educational, corporate, political, or frontline. What makes ANCHOR innovative is its scope and its personalisation. Using artificial intelligence in a responsible, limited-risk way, it adapts to user needs while ensuring anonymity and safety. It does not diagnose or replace therapy. Instead, it acts as a supportive, private companion, a place where individuals can begin their well-being journey without fear of judgment.

For many people in high-consequence roles, privacy is the first barrier to receiving help. ANCHOR gives them a space to start, quietly and confidently. Importantly, ANCHOR is not only a digital tool. It is designed to grow into a wider ecosystem of support. In time, it will connect users to real-world well-being and recovery centres, healthy eateries, sporting facilities, and relevant professionals. It will offer retreats where individuals can move from private self-work into meaningful connection with others. In this way, ANCHOR becomes more than an app, it becomes a pathway.

This project also reflects something important about Malta. It could only come to life in a country that actively creates space for innovation. ANCHOR sits at the intersection of two national priorities: mental health and digitalisation. Malta has recognised that wellbeing is essential to our nation’s resilience and that technology, when built responsibly, can help us address complex human needs. This combination of openness, foresight and trust is what allowed ANCHOR to take shape. Every person deserves support, especially those we rely on most. ANCHOR was created because the anchor team believe that leadership, performance and responsibility should not come at the cost of one’s mental wellbeing. Malta has taken an important step by supporting this vision. Together, we can build a culture where those who carry the heaviest responsibilities no longer have to carry their burdens alone.

The project is financed by the Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research, and Innovation, while Prof. Matthew Montebello from the Department of Artificial Intelligence at the Faculty of ICT is the primary investigator.