Parliament Backs Janabiya Youth Centre

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Parliament on Tuesday passed a proposal calling for a Youth Empowerment Centre to be built in Janabiya, after MPs heard that the area still has no such facility despite its rising population and growing need for youth services.

The proposal, put forward by MP Dr Muneer Seroor, calls for a centre to run programmes and activities for young people in Janabiya, with the aim of helping them build skills, develop their talents and take part in social, cultural and leisure life in the area.

Dr Seroor told the chamber that investing in youth was ‘the surest wager on the future of the country’, adding that more than 60 per cent of Bahrain’s citizens were young. He said most parts of Bahrain already had youth centres serving local residents, while Janabiya, home to about 16,000 people in the Seventh Northern constituency, still had no centre to serve its young people.

‘Where do Janabiya’s young people go today to develop their talents and practise their activities in the absence of a youth centre serving this growing area?’ he asked during Tuesday’s debate.

Backers of the motion said the centre would help fill a gap in an area with no civil society bodies working in youth affairs. They said it would give young people a place to meet, share views and experience, and launch community initiatives in an organised setting.

The plan also calls for the centre to work with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and under its umbrella, with new programmes arranged in co-operation with the ministry so youth activities can reach Janabiya and nearby areas.

Dr Seroor said the proposed centre would be ‘a space that embraces their energies’, adding that it would support young people’s role in serving the community and the country. He said that, when young people find a setting that backs their abilities, ‘their ambitions turn into achievements’.

In its reply, the Ministry of Youth Affairs said it agreed with the aims behind the proposal and with the need to provide a safe place for young people. It said the Northern Governorate already has 15 youth centres in operation, and that its current focus is on backing existing centres by raising the standard of their programmes and services and making better use of available facilities.

The ministry added that it was still working to reach young people across different areas, help them grow their talents and support their role in sustainable development.

Even so, the Services Committee backed the proposal, with all members present agreeing to recommend its passage on public-interest grounds.