In cooperation with the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, the Ministry of Social Development and Family today inaugurated the third annual exhibition of private associations and foundations, with the Directorate of Public Endowments, the Qatar Charitable Society, and the General Foundation for Cultural Neighborhood "Katara".

The exhibition, which was held under the slogan "My Society in Community Service", was opened and sponsored by Her Excellency Mrs. Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al-Masnad, Minister of Social Development and Family and Palestinian Minister of Social Development, His Excellency Mr. Ahmed Abdulsalam Majdalani, and his family.

In its third edition, the exhibition witnessed competitive programs and initiatives in all fields and an expansion in the number of participants from associations and organizations. It aims to raise awareness of private organizations and their significant role in community service and to highlight the role of associations whose activities range from professional, social, and cultural. It also opens the way for it to market its initiatives, for volunteers to join it, and for faster communication between it and community members. This exhibition represents an opportunity to display the activities and initiatives of associations and institutions, as a specific space is allocated for each association to highlight its role and services in society.

Represented by the Department of Private Associations and Institutions, the Ministry of Social Development and Family seeks, through the third edition of the exhibition, to organize voluntary social work and activate social participation. It also aims to raise the community's level of knowledge of private associations and institutions, to advance their role, and to obtain distinguished outputs for the exhibition that benefit the community.

The exhibition reflects the role played by private associations and institutions through social responsibility, whether between the government and private sectors or civil society organizations. 

In his turn, Mr. Naji Abd Rabbo Al-Aji, Director of the Associations and Private Institutions Department at the Ministry, said: "The third annual exhibition of associations and private institutions 2023 aims to introduce society to the services provided by associations, their goals, and activities, and it is also considered a dialogue arena between civil society organizations and members of society." He also indicates that the exhibition aims to encourage and motivate civil society organizations to make outstanding efforts and achieve outstanding achievements in sustainable development. It seeks to support social and voluntary work in all social fields, activate community participation, and strengthen and expand the responsibilities of effective social partnership roles between state and civil society institutions, leading to the advancement of social responsibility towards society.

Al-Ajji also pointed out that the exhibition seeks to encourage innovation in the programs and services provided by associations and private institutions, to reach pioneering projects that qualify them to compete at the external level.

He also stressed that the Qatari law is considered one of the most recent civil labor laws, which regulates the work of private institutions and carries many amendments, and gives absolute powers to associations to practice their work and specializations under the auspices of the general assembly elected by the Board of Directors. About the Ministry of Social Development and the Family, it allows complete freedom for associations, unless they deviate from the law regulating the work of civil society organizations in the State of Qatar.

He expressed his hope that the exhibition would be the beginning of a competitive process between associations to present qualitative initiatives that serve the community, each in its field of specialization. He also added that the organizations participating in this exhibition are in a variety of fields, including professional, educational, cultural, and social, and that this exhibition will contribute to introducing the efforts of these organizations. It will also open the door to ideas for establishing new organizations that serve other groups and meet people's needs. At the same time, any other associations are welcome to join this exhibition in its upcoming sessions if they provide services and benefits and serve the public interest.

Mrs. Fatima Al-Nuaimi, Assistant Director of the Family Affairs Department, stated about the participation in the national productive project "From the Homeland" and the aim of participation. She pointed out that this exhibition comes within the framework of the ministry's keenness to enrich and activate the work of these private associations and institutions and to highlight their positive role in society, especially the national projects to motivate the participants and inform the community of the prominent role played by these projects. She pointed out that supporting private associations, their awareness campaigns, and guidance programs, and motivating them to serve the community are among the roles of the ministry in the services it performs for the community. The exhibition also opened the way for productive projects "from the homeland" to market their initiatives and join new production projects that serve the community and provide job opportunities for their owners. Participants are selected according to the quality of the product and the consumer's needs.

The third participation of productive projects this year comes with new products such as textiles, sculptures, and local foods. The number of participating projects is 10 productive projects, and we aspire to more participation.