NGOs, civil society organisations, voluntary groups, charity organisations and other associations in Malta play a pivotal role in our society.

Environment NGOs fight for a greener Malta and against overdevelopment, heritage NGOs fights to protect out national heritage, charity organisations help those in need, others offer support to people suffering from addiction. There are organisations that provide mental health support, groups that fight for justice and the rule of law, organisations that promote music and culture, organisations that go out of their way to clean up the country and the list goes on and on.

While Malta is a small country, there are organisations for nearly everything we can think of.

Honestly... where would Malta be without such groups. They are an integral part of the country.

Let's just take a few examples.

ENGOs like Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar, Din L-Art Helwa and Moviment Graffitti, as well as others, are constantly at the forefront fighting against abusive development and overdevelopment. Can you imagine where we would be without them?

ROTA is fighting for safer cycling lanes in a country that has too many cars on the road. If cyclists felt safer, perhaps more people would opt to use this form of transport, thus easing, even slightly, congestion on the roads.

The Richmond Foundation provides important support for people with mental health issues, as do some other groups.

Civil Society Groups like Repubblika fight for justice and help keep politicians in line.

Victim Support Malta helps victims of crime by offering emotional support to assist victims in overcoming trauma, information and support pertaining to the relative criminal procedures.

Caritas Malta helps people with addictions, among other things.

BirdLife Malta tries to protect birds in the country.

These are just a few of the many, many groups in Malta who work for the betterment of society.

Activism in the country is strong, and people are willing to help out causes which they support. This is extremely important for our country.

Indeed the government recognises the work of some of these groups. As an example, the government works with Caritas. But then there are times where the government seemingly ignores civil society and NGOs. The environmental field can be one example. How long have eNGOs been arguing about Malta's overdevelopment situation? How long have citizens in general been highlighting this issue? Yet what exactly has been done?

Such organisations are important to put pressure on the government to change things. Some of these people do this in their spare time, while others have it as their full-time job so to speak. But one thing is for sure... you might not agree with everything they do or say, but one must admire the passion with which they work.