The first Civil Society Festival was held on the 26 th of November 2016. CEPS in partnership with Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) and the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), came together for the first edition of this festival. Forty-seven Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) participated in the event, held at the Freedom Square.
The festival was officially launched by the Principal Secretary in the Vice-President’s office, Mr. Alain Volcere. Present at the opening ceremony was Vice-President Vincent Meriton, CEPS Board members, MCB staff, members of CSOs and the general public.
The Festival:
The overall aim of the Civil Society Organisation festival is to raise awareness amongst the general public on the contribution that Civil Society as a sector is contributed towards sustainable development of the country.
The objectives is to bring all CSOs in the Seychelles together for a fun day to:
- Raise the awareness of general public of what civil society organizations contribute to the ‘sustainable development’ of the Seychelles
- Raise funds for their routine annual activities
- Recruit new members for their individual organizations
- Exposure
The Event:
CEPS members as well as associations that are yet to become members of the platform are all brought together at this event. Participating organizations puts up their banners, posters, exhibits and also take this opportunity to fund raise. To encourage families to participate in this event games such as quiz, bouncing castles, lucky dips, dominoes and face painting to name a few. Through the exhibits, many of the participants showcase their activities, programmes and projects through photographs, items produced information boards and presentations. Through these activities, volunteers get to interact with the general public and they get to promote their organizations whilst recruiting new members.
CEPS will hold its next CSO Festival in 2018.
Sponsors and Partners:
The CSO Festival 2016 was a success thanks to our main sponsor the Mauritius Commercial Bank.
