North sehla: The Ministry of Youth Affairs announced that the first stop of Al Fareej Festival will take place on August 28-29 at the North Sehla Youth Empowerment Centre, as part of a year-round community youth initiative covering various governorates of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The initiative aims to turn neighbourhoods and local areas into interactive spaces, bringing together youth, young people, and families around talent, creativity, heritage, technology, and entertainment.
According to Bahrain News Agency, the festival's first stop is being held in cooperation with the Popular Heritage Committee, offering an experience that combines the authenticity of Bahraini heritage with the spirit of contemporary youth through a range of programmes and activities celebrating heritage and providing young people with opportunities to showcase their talents, creativity, and projects.
Al Fereej Festival is part of the Ministry of Youth Affairs' vision to strengthen youth's presence and participation within their local communities by providing interactive platforms that allow them to contribute to the design and implementation of events, strengthening initiative and community belonging and reinforcing ties among community members.
The festival follows a community-based model built on the concept of from the community to the community, with its activities moving throughout the year between four locations across the Kingdom's governorates in cooperation with youth empowerment centres. This allows for renewed experiences close to residents and transforms neighbourhoods into community destinations, bringing together different age groups.
The festival targets young people aged 15 to 35, while its programmes and activities are also open to young people and families, creating an inclusive community space that brings together the interests of different generations and turns participation from mere attendance into interaction and active contribution.
The festival features a diverse range of activities reflecting young people's interests, including heritage programmes, traditional games, and traditional crafts, as well as technology, space, arts and theatre, a youth market, a mental health corner, electronic games, sports activities, and participation by productive families.
The festival aims to empower young people to showcase their talents and projects, strengthen their sense of support and belonging to their communities, expand their participation at neighbourhood and local levels, and create sustainable and recurring community experiences led by young people, while promoting hope and optimism for the future.
Through the diversity of its stops and programmes, Al Fereej Festival seeks to become a recurring community occasion that brings young people closer to their surroundings and enables the community to better recognise their capabilities and talents, reflecting the richness of Bahraini society and strengthening the role of young people as active partners in developing their communities.