Open Society Institute
Encyclopedia
The Open Society Institute (OSI), renamed in 2011 to Open Society Foundations, is a private operating and grantmaking
foundation started by George Soros
, aimed to shape public policy to promote democratic
governance
, human rights
, and economic, legal, and social reform. On a local level, OSF implements a range of initiatives to support the rule of law
, education
, public health
, and independent media
. At the same time, OSF works to build alliances across borders and continents on issues such as combating corruption
and rights abuses.
One of the aims of the OSF is the development of civil society
organizations (e.g., charities, community groups and trade unions) to encourage participation in democracy and society.
and Eastern Europe
and the former Soviet Union
. On May 28, 1984 Soros signed the contract between the Soros Foundation (New York) and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the founding document of the Soros Foundation Budapest. This was followed by several foundations in the region to help countries move away from communism. In August 2010, Open Society Initiative changed its name to Open Society Foundations to better reflect its role as funder for civil society groups around the world. OSF has expanded the activities of the Soros Foundation
s network to other areas of the world where the transition to democracy is of particular concern. The Soros Foundation
s network has nodes in more than 60 countries, including the United States
. OSF projects include the National Security and Human Rights Campaign that opposes detention of unprivileged combatants and the Lindesmith Center
and others dealing with drug reform.
(OSIWA) and the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa
(OSISA). Recent efforts have included those that have met with controversy, including an effort in East Africa aimed at spreading human rights awareness among prostitutes in Uganda and other East African nations, which was not received well by the Ugandan authorities, who considered it an effort to legalize and legitimize prostitution. Other initiatives includes: AfriMAP; Arts & Culture Program; Americas Quarterly
; Burma Project/Southeast Asia Initiative; Central Eurasia Project; Central Eurasia Project; Closing the Addiction Treatment Gap; Documentary Photography Project; Early Childhood Program; East East Program: Partnership Beyond Borders; Education Support Program; EUMAP; Global Drug Policy Program; Information Program; International Higher Education Support Program; Latin America Program; Local Government & Public Service Reform Initiative; Media Program; Middle East & North Africa Initiative; Open Society Fellowship; OSI-Baltimore; OSI-Brussels; OSI-Washington, D.C.; Public Health Program; Roma Initiatives; Scholarship Programs; Special Initiatives; Think Tank Fund; Turkmenistan Project; U.S. Programs; Women's Program; the Youth Initiative; the International Migration Initiative; and Policy Matters Ohio
.
Grant (money)
Grants are funds disbursed by one party , often a Government Department, Corporation, Foundation or Trust, to a recipient, often a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business or an individual. In order to receive a grant, some form of "Grant Writing" often referred to as either a proposal...
foundation started by George Soros
George Soros
George Soros is a Hungarian-American business magnate, investor, philosopher, and philanthropist. He is the chairman of Soros Fund Management. Soros supports progressive-liberal causes...
, aimed to shape public policy to promote democratic
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
governance
Governance
Governance is the act of governing. It relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power, or verify performance. It consists of either a separate process or part of management or leadership processes...
, human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, and economic, legal, and social reform. On a local level, OSF implements a range of initiatives to support the rule of law
Rule of law
The rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
, and independent media
Alternative media
Alternative media are media which provide alternative information to the mainstream media in a given context, whether the mainstream media are commercial, publicly supported, or government-owned...
. At the same time, OSF works to build alliances across borders and continents on issues such as combating corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
and rights abuses.
One of the aims of the OSF is the development of civil society
Civil society
Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
organizations (e.g., charities, community groups and trade unions) to encourage participation in democracy and society.
History
Open Society Institute was created in 1993 by investor George Soros to support his foundations in CentralCentral Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
and the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. On May 28, 1984 Soros signed the contract between the Soros Foundation (New York) and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the founding document of the Soros Foundation Budapest. This was followed by several foundations in the region to help countries move away from communism. In August 2010, Open Society Initiative changed its name to Open Society Foundations to better reflect its role as funder for civil society groups around the world. OSF has expanded the activities of the Soros Foundation
Soros Foundation
A Soros Foundation is one of a network of national foundations, mostly in Central and Eastern Europe, which fund volunteer socio-political activity, created by George Soros, international financier and self-proclaimed philanthropist, and coordinated since early 1994 by a management team called the...
s network to other areas of the world where the transition to democracy is of particular concern. The Soros Foundation
Soros Foundation
A Soros Foundation is one of a network of national foundations, mostly in Central and Eastern Europe, which fund volunteer socio-political activity, created by George Soros, international financier and self-proclaimed philanthropist, and coordinated since early 1994 by a management team called the...
s network has nodes in more than 60 countries, including the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. OSF projects include the National Security and Human Rights Campaign that opposes detention of unprivileged combatants and the Lindesmith Center
Lindesmith Center
The Lindesmith Center was an Open Society Institute project which has conducted research related to drug reform. It was founded in 1994 by Ethan Nadelmann with financial support from George Soros...
and others dealing with drug reform.
Initiatives
Related initiatives include the Open Society Initiative for West AfricaOpen Society Initiative for West Africa
Open Society Initiative for West Africa is a West African organization which promotes democratic values. OSIWA "believes that it best serves by sustaining catalytic and innovative initiatives that add value to the efforts of West Africa's civil society." OSIWA also believes in the value of...
(OSIWA) and the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa
Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa
Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa is a Southern African organization which "collaborates with other organizations on issues surrounding the rule of law, democracy building, human rights, economic development, education, the media, and access to technology and information...
(OSISA). Recent efforts have included those that have met with controversy, including an effort in East Africa aimed at spreading human rights awareness among prostitutes in Uganda and other East African nations, which was not received well by the Ugandan authorities, who considered it an effort to legalize and legitimize prostitution. Other initiatives includes: AfriMAP; Arts & Culture Program; Americas Quarterly
Americas Quarterly
Americas Quarterly, The Policy Journal for Our Hemisphere, is a magazine dedicated to policy analysis and debate of economics, finance, social development, and politics in the Western Hemisphere.Launched in 2007, AQ reaches over 17,000 readers...
; Burma Project/Southeast Asia Initiative; Central Eurasia Project; Central Eurasia Project; Closing the Addiction Treatment Gap; Documentary Photography Project; Early Childhood Program; East East Program: Partnership Beyond Borders; Education Support Program; EUMAP; Global Drug Policy Program; Information Program; International Higher Education Support Program; Latin America Program; Local Government & Public Service Reform Initiative; Media Program; Middle East & North Africa Initiative; Open Society Fellowship; OSI-Baltimore; OSI-Brussels; OSI-Washington, D.C.; Public Health Program; Roma Initiatives; Scholarship Programs; Special Initiatives; Think Tank Fund; Turkmenistan Project; U.S. Programs; Women's Program; the Youth Initiative; the International Migration Initiative; and Policy Matters Ohio
Policy Matters Ohio
Policy Matters Ohio is an Ohio-based nonprofit, nonpartisan policy research organization founded in January 2000. Its research focuses on economic issues facing low- and middle-income workers in Ohio. Through research, advocacy, media work, public events, and forging partnerships, Policy Matters...
.
See also
- Soros FoundationSoros FoundationA Soros Foundation is one of a network of national foundations, mostly in Central and Eastern Europe, which fund volunteer socio-political activity, created by George Soros, international financier and self-proclaimed philanthropist, and coordinated since early 1994 by a management team called the...
- Open SocietyOpen societyThe open society is a concept originally developed by philosopher Henri Bergson and then by Austrian and British philosopher Karl Popper. In open societies, government is purported to be responsive and tolerant, and political mechanisms are said to be transparent and flexible...
- Central European UniversityCentral European UniversityFor other uses, see European University Central European University is a graduate-level, English-language university offering degrees in the social sciences, humanities, law, public policy, business management, environmental science, and mathematics...
- Transparency InternationalTransparency InternationalTransparency International is a non-governmental organization that monitors and publicizes corporate and political corruption in international development. It publishes an annual Corruption Perceptions Index, a comparative listing of corruption worldwide...
- Colour revolution
- Budapest Open Access InitiativeBudapest Open Access InitiativeThe Budapest Open Access Initiative was a conference convened by the Open Society Institute on December 1-2, 2001. This small gathering of individuals is recognised as one of the major historical, and defining, events of the open access movement....
- DOAJ
Further reading
- Thomas CarothersThomas CarothersThomas Carothers is one of the most noted international experts on international democracy support, democratization, and U.S. foreign policy. He serves as vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he founded and currently directs the Democracy and Rule of...
(1999) Aiding Democracy Abroad: The Learning Curve, Washington DC., Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1999. - Nicolas Guilhot, ‘Reforming the World: George Soros, ‘Global capitalism and the philanthropic management of the social sciences’, Critical Sociology, 2007.
- Andrea Krizsán and Viola Zentai (eds) Reshaping Globalization: Multilateral Dialogues and New Policy Initiatives, Budapest, Central European University Press, 2003.
- Thomas PalleyThomas PalleyThomas Palley is a United States-based economist who has served as the chief economist for the US – China Economic and Security Review Commission. He is currently Schwartz Economic Growth Fellow at the New America Foundation.- Career :...
, ‘The Open Institute and Global Social Policy’, Global Social Policy, 3(1) 2003: 17-18. - Joan Roelofs, Foundations and Public Policy: The Mask of Pluralism, Albany, SUNY, 2003.
- Diane Stone, “Market Principles, Philanthropic Ideals and Public Service Values: The Public Policy Program at the Central European University”, PS: Political Science and Politics, July 2007: 545—551
- http://www.forbes.com/sites/richardminiter/2011/09/09/should-george-soros-be-allowed-to-buy-u-s-foreign-policy/ Open Society Institutes, pours some $500 million per year into organizations in the former Soviet world...Soros has also funded opposition parties in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Croatia, Georgia, and Macedonia, helping them into either power or prominence. All of these countries were once Russian allies.
External links
- Official website
- Open Society Institute 2004 Annual Report
- Iraq Revenue Watch, a project of the Open Society Institute
- Open Society Archives - an OSI project in BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. - "A Letter to the OSI U.S. Programs Community and Friends" Gara LaMarche, OSI, May 23, 2002
- The Soros Threat To Democracy (Investor's Business DailyInvestor's Business DailyInvestor's Business Daily is a national newspaper in the United States, published Monday through Friday, that covers international business, finance, and the global economy...
) - MacKinnon, Mark. Georgia revolt carried mark of Soros. Globe and Mail, 26 November 2003.
- Americas Quarterly - Latin American policy publication funded in part by the Open Society Institute