Grants Awarded to Strengthen Civil Society in the Maldives

Nine proposals submitted by local civil society organizations have been awarded a total of US $ 170,110, under a Small Grants Facility jointly funded by UNDP and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). The selections were made out of 85 proposals submitted by non-profit and non-governmental organizations across the country.

The main purpose of this initiative, under the UNDP and AusAID partnered ‘Support to Civil Society Development’ project, is to help strengthen civil society through targeted support to NGOs, particularly in the field of human rights. It aims to financially support NGO and CSO initiatives in human rights, governance, rights- based developments and gender equality.

Following a rigorous evaluation process, the projects were selected according to the highest scores based on the evaluation criteria, taking into consideration geographic representation and diversity of project themes. As a result, the selected projects reflect a broad range of thematic areas including capacity building of NGOs, promotion of human rights, good governance, gender equality, youth development, policy advocacy on national and local issues and the empowerment of women. Projects have been selected from Seenu, Gnaviyani, Gaaf Dhaalu, Gaaf Alifu, Noonu, Faafu and Lhaviyani Atolls.

“This is an important step to sustain and expand the space created through democratic reforms for civil society. This will help citizens have greater ownership over their community's development processes, and be better informed on how to exercise their rights,” said Mr. Andrew Cox, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative.