We began MidEastYouth.com in 2006 on a purely volunteer basis, with all work and content contributed by our members. We have always been a purely voluntary non-profit organization. Only this past year have we sought external support for our growing platform and expanding programs, and thus, needed official registration to qualify for such contributions. Despite offers, we have refused to register anywhere else but within the Middle East. As the founder is based in Bahrain, it was chosen as the preferred location, also due to it being considerably safer than neighboring countries. At the moment, we are registering as a “company” due to the financial and operational restrictions placed on NGOs. However we will remain a non-profit organization despite our legal status as a business. The Mideast Youth Foundation, Inc and MideastYouth.com are two separate organizations registered in two different countries but are run essentially by the same people.
As previously stated, MideastYouth.com will be officially recognized as a “business” in Bahrain. Strategically Bahrain gives us a lot of opportunities to grow. We feel less at risk there than in anywhere in the Middle East. It is not easy operating our projects within this region, but for the sake of credibility we realized that it was absolutely crucial for us to develop a regional presence for our main organization, MideastYouth.com, and Bahrain was the most obvious option to achieve that.
The Foundation was created two years after MideastYouth.com was launched in order to significantly enhance our fundraising efforts.
We have yet to secure official funders. We won two financial rewards in 2 years, detailed here. We rely on donations to survive otherwise, but considering our growth we no longer feel it is possible, hence our lookout for funding opportunities. We will publicly announce our funding when we receive it.
Mideast Youth funding and operations policy is based on the un-yielding position that we will not take or receive money or contributions of any sort with the intention of furthering one political or ideological agenda over another. Our credibility is our independence and our reputation relies on our un-biased and fair approach to the topics and ideas we discuss and deal with on a day-to-day basis. Our foundation and aim is to promote peace and understanding through constructive and often times heated debate and dialog. The internet is a host to a number of positions and ideas and we welcome the criticisms and conversations that make our outlet what it is; a medium of change.
We do not make profit. This is why we consider funding at this stage to be vital for us to continue to exist, we cannot operate without the required financial assistance that accompanies our growth.
We are fully transparent about any funding gained, announcing any partnerships, sponsors, and grants within this website. Costs involved will also be publicized.
We used our financial rewards to extend our growth by redeveloping and professionalizing MideastYouth.com, building two video sites, developing 14 campaigns, providing free technical services to other networks, as well as moving to a dedicated host to provide a secure location for all our projects and partners. We also used it to hire reporters, translators, and photographers for Afghan Press, for 6-8 months. We spent the remaining funds on legal and registration costs for our NGO statuses.
The best thing about working with the internet is that you can be based anywhere. There are no offices, nor do we plan on creating any. That said, the vast majority of our volunteers, participants, and staff live in the Middle East.
We have key staff members laying the structure of our projects, and taking care of the growing amount of day-to-day operations, everything else is open and created by whoever wishes to get involved. We work hard to make sure that our projects are as accessible and as easy to get involved with as possible, specifically for regional youth.
To make it easier for young people to voice their sincere opinions fearlessly, to engage openly in dialogue, and to have very few limits in terms of putting their ideas into action and creating groundbreaking, unique projects that contribute to uncensored education, cultural diversity, interfaith, and social change.
We founded this organization independently, without any organizational or governmental support. We strongly believe in our independence. We value our intellectual, religious, political, cultural, and sexual diversity and do not preach or promote any ideology. We do not welcome any government or organization to instruct us on how to do our work. We came this far with our own hard work, professionalized with our own resources while taking a considerable amount of risks, and wish to continue the journey without outside interference. We already proved that we operate best independently.