Civil Society Grant Facility
Posted On: November 8th, 2022
Bhutan Media Foundation is the first to successfully publish seven well-researched stories, including two visual stories, on civil society. Their project brought together the media and civil society by engaging them in a mutual understanding through two workshops. A two-day workshop titled ‘Understanding CSOs: The Third Sector’ for editors and reporters helped the media understand the democratic significance of CSOs and their contribution to society. The workshop engaged the CSO leaders as speakers. Another workshop titled ‘Understanding CBOs: The Grassroots changemakers’ for editors and reporters helped the media understand the need and contribution of CBOs. The workshop engaged CBO leaders from across the country as speakers. The culmination of the two workshops was a civil society reporting grant awarded to seven journalists who attended one of or both workshops.
As a result of their project, 30 journalists have been sensitized on the concepts surrounding civil society as the third sector, the legal framework of civil society in Bhutan, the economic contributions of CSOs, public perceptions and misperceptions of CSOs, the journey of some of the pioneering CSOs in the country, the concepts of CBOs, the CSO landscape in Bhutan, how CBOs have grown out of the traditional self-help mechanism, and the inspiring journey of some pioneering CBOs in Bhutan.