Forum for Malta-based NGOs

Representatives of non-governmental organisations attending a public dialogue on the issue of NGO legislation in Malta last Friday agreed to set up a forum for Malta-based NGOs to enable a discussion on all issues related to the recognition and...

Representatives of non-governmental organisations attending a public dialogue on the issue of NGO legislation in Malta last Friday agreed to set up a forum for Malta-based NGOs to enable a discussion on all issues related to the recognition and regulation of NGOs in Malta.

NGOs believe they should form an integral part of the eventual legislation.

The dialogue, organised on the initiative of four Maltese NGOs - Third World Group, Kopin, Koperattiva Kummerc Gust and Inizjamed - was addressed by Max Ganado who was assigned the task of drafting the Voluntary Organisations Act and who illustrated the main principles guiding the drafting of the legislation. The government would be publishing the draft document as a white paper.

Ludek Sterba, an activist from the Czech Republic who has been in Malta for six months working and training with Koperattiva Kummerc Gust, said it was unbelievable that Malta had no legislation for NGOs yet. He could not imagine how NGOs could exist without it.

The issue of legal recognition of NGOs in the Czech Republic was resolved immediately after the fall of Communism in the early 1990s, he said.

NGOs interested in joining the forum should e-mail kopin@ maltaforum.org.

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