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The Open
Society Institute (OSI) is a private operating
and grantmaking foundation based in New
York City that serves as the hub of the
Soros foundations network, a group of autonomous
foundations and organizations in more than
50 countries. OSI and the network implement
a range of initiatives that aim to promote
open societies by shaping government policy
and supporting education, media, public
health, and human and women's rights, as
well as social, legal, and economic reform.
To diminish and prevent the negative consequences
of globalization, OSI seeks to foster global
open society by increasing collaboration
with other nongovernmental organizations,
governments, and international institutions.
OSI was founded in 1993 by
investor and philanthropist George Soros
to support his foundations in Central and
Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
Those foundations were established, starting
in 1984, to help former communist countries
in their transition to democracy. The Soros
foundations network has expanded its geographic
reach to include foundations and initiatives
in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean,
Mongolia, Southeast Asia, Turkey, and the
United States. OSI also supports selective
projects in other parts of the world.
The Open Society Institute's
initiatives address specific issue areas
on a regional or network-wide basis. Many
of them are implemented in cooperation with
Soros foundations in various countries.
The initiatives are listed below in alphabetical
order.
Arts & Culture
Program
The Arts and Culture Program promotes cultural
and artistic collaboration throughout the
Soros foundations network; fosters structural
changes in cultural policy; and helps develop
an autonomous and innovative arts sector.
more
Burma Project/Southeast
Asia Initiative
The Burma Project/Southeast Asia Initiative
focuses on open society issues throughout
the region, particularly in Burma but also
in other countries where essential freedoms
are threatened or non-existent. more
Central Eurasia
Project
The Central Eurasia Project strives to enhance
policy debate on key issues affecting Central
Asia and the South Caucasus as well as several
countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
more
Children & Youth
Programs
The Children and Youth Programs bring innovative
approaches to existing social and educational
structures that have an impact on the welfare
and development of children and adolescents
in Central and Eastern Europe and the former
Soviet Union. more
Community Fellowships
Community Fellowships are awarded to individuals
who wish to employ their educational and
professional attainments in service to disadvantaged
communities in the New York City and Baltimore,
Maryland areas. more
East East Program:
Partnership Beyond Borders
The East East Program: Partnership Beyond
Borders supports the exchange of people
and ideas to transcend national borders
and create partnerships that strengthen
open society. more
Economic & Business
Development Program
The Economic and Business Development Program
assists Soros foundations in promoting the
restructuring of transitional economies,
focusing on building viable market economies
and creating new jobs. more
Education Support
Program
The Education Support Program works to facilitate
change in education and national policy
development in Central and Eastern Europe,
the former Soviet Union, and Mongolia. more
English Language
Programs
English Language Programs work at the national
level, focusing on teaching English for
effective international communication. more
EU Monitoring &
Advocacy Program
The EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program monitors
compliance with the European Union's political
criteria for accession in the candidate
states of Central and Eastern Europe. more
Governance &
Public Policy
The Program on Governance and Public Policy
seeks to strengthen the institutions of
representative democracy in the United States,
to reengage citizens in public life, and
to ensure that public services respond to
public needs. more
Human Rights &
Governance Grants Program
The Human Rights and Governance Grants Program
provides support to nongovernmental organizations
operating in the fields of human rights
and governance in Europe and Central Asia.
more
Information Program
The Information Program promotes the equitable
deployment of knowledge and communications
resources for civic empowerment and effective
democratic governance. more
International Harm
Reduction Development Program
The International Harm Reduction Development
Program (IHRD), a part of OSI's Public Health
Programs, focuses on diminishing the individual
and social harms associated with drug use—particularly
the risk of HIV infection—through innovative
measures based on the philosophy of harm
reduction. more
International Higher
Education Support Program
The International Higher Education Support
Program (HESP) promotes the advancement
of higher education within the humanities
and social sciences in Central and Eastern
Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Mongolia.
more
International Policy
Fellowships
The International Policy Fellowships Program
identifies and supports research by open
society leaders in countries throughout
the Soros foundations network. more
Latin America Program
The Latin America Program works throughout
the region to create more open societies,
enhance human rights protections, and encourage
the implementation of economic and political
policies firmly rooted in democracy. more
Local Government
& Public Service Reform Initiative
The Local Government and Public Service
Reform Initiative promotes effective democratic
government in Central and Eastern Europe,
the former Soviet Union, and Mongolia. more
Media Program
The Media Program assists in the development
and establishment of media systems marked
by freedom, pluralism, and the inclusion
of minority voices and opinions. more
Medicine as a Profession
The Medicine as a Profession initiative
(MAP) seeks to invigorate the principles
of professionalism in medicine to advance
trust, quality, and integrity in the United
States. more
Mental Disability
Advocacy Program
The Mental Disability Advocacy Program,
part of OSI’s Public Health Programs,
supports initiatives that seek to address
the massive over- institutionalization,
the lack of community-based services, and
the general exclusion from society of people
with intellectual disabilities and/or mental
health problems throughout Central and Eastern
Europe, South Eastern Europe, and the former
Soviet Union. more
Open Society Justice
Initiative
The Open Society Justice Initiative, an
operational program of the Open Society
Institute, promotes rights-based law reform,
builds knowledge and strengthens legal capacity
worldwide. more
OSI-Baltimore
OSI-Baltimore seeks to foster debate, empower
marginalized groups to help shape and monitor
public policy, and strengthen communities
and families in the Baltimore, Maryland
area through the development of fair, rational,
and responsive public systems. more
OSI-Washington, D.C.
OSI-Washington, D.C. focuses on civil liberties
in the United States as well as other domestic
and international policy issues, including
globalization, criminal justice reform,
human rights, and women's rights. more
Program on Reproductive
Health and Rights
The Program on Reproductive Health and Rights
promotes reproductive freedom as a core
element in advancing women’s civil
liberties and human rights, and in securing
larger social and economic opportunities
for women and their families. more
Project on Death
In America
The Project on Death in America (PDIA) seeks
to transform the culture and experience
of dying and bereavement by fostering innovations
in the provision of care, public education,
professional education, and public policy.
more
Public Health Programs
Public Health Programs support initiatives
throughout the Soros foundations network
that encourage sustainable change in public
health policy and practice. more
Roma Programs
Roma Programs focus primarily on improving
the social, political, and economic situation
of Romani populations in Central and Eastern
Europe and the Balkans region. more
Scholarship Programs
Scholarship Programs mobilize students and
scholars by providing support for fellowships,
scholarships, and related activities that
empower individuals throughout the world
to improve the social, political, and intellectual
environments of their home communities.
more
U.S. Justice Fund
The U.S. Justice Fund is the cornerstone
of OSI's strong commitment to reducing the
excessive reliance on punishment and incarceration
in the United States, and to promoting fair
and equal treatment in all aspects of the
U.S. criminal justice system. more
Women's Program
The Network Women’s Program works to
promote the advancement of women’s
human rights, gender equality, and empowerment
as an integral part of the process of democratization.
more
Youth Initiative
OSI's Youth Initiative aims to develop the
analytical, research, and self-expression
skills that young people need to think critically
about their world and to engage actively
in U.S. society. more
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