The Number of Civil Society Organizations Soars
In her speech during the opening of the Youth Societies Summit
on 7 July 2009, the Minister of Social Development, Fatima Al Balushi,
stated that the number of civil society organizations (CSOs) has
increased significantly over the past years and reached over 474
in the current year compared to no more than 260 societies by the
end of 2001. The Minister regarded this as ‘an indicator of the
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| Fatima Al Balushi |
vitality and activism of CSOs in Bahrain, and that it is thriving
during a time that is characterized by an increase in freedom, transparency
and political and economic development’.
However, the Minister regarded this increase in the number of
societies as ‘one of the biggest challenges facing the Ministry
and made it re-assess the best way of providing the necessary support
and services to them’. She noted the necessity of re-categorizing
those societies in accordance to systematic foundations, as the
case with the voluntary youth organizations which need to unite
their efforts and be given an equal share of the Ministry’s technical
and financial support. Based on this, the Minister has announced
that it will be providing permanent headquarters for all youth organizations,
consisting of 12 apartments and shared utilities such as meeting
halls. The cost of this project is 650 thousand Dinars (nearly 1.75
Million US Dollars).
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