Open Society Foundations
Mark Malloch-Brown | |
Revenue (2021) | $988 million[1] |
---|---|
Endowment (2021) | $5.89 billion[1] |
Website | opensocietyfoundations |
Formerly called | Open Society Institute |
Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a US-based grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros.[2] Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the stated aim of advancing justice, education, public health and independent media.[3][4] The group's name was inspired by Karl Popper's 1945 book The Open Society and Its Enemies.[5]
As of 2015, the OSF had branches in 37 countries,
History
On May 28, 1984, business magnate George Soros signed a contract between the Soros Foundation/New York City and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the founding document of the Soros Foundation/Budapest.[9] This was followed by several foundations in the region to help countries move away from Real socialism in the Eastern Bloc.[10]
In 1991, the foundation merged with the Fondation pour une Entraide Intellectuelle Européenne ("Foundation for European Intellectual Mutual Aid"), an affiliate of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, created in 1966 to imbue 'non-conformist' Eastern European scientists with anti-totalitarian and capitalist ideas.[11]
In 1993, the Open Society Institute was created in the United States to support the Soros foundations in Central and Eastern Europe and Russia.[6]
In August 2010, it started using the name Open Society Foundations (OSF) to better reflect its role as a benefactor for civil society groups in countries around the world.[12]
In 1995, Soros stated that he believed there can be no absolute answers to political questions because the same principle of reflexivity applies as in financial markets.[13]
In 2012,
In 2016, the OSF was reportedly the target of a
In 2017, Soros transferred $18 billion to the foundation.[19]
In 2020, Soros announced that he was creating the Open Society University Network (OSUN), endowing the network with $1 billion.[20]
In 2023, George Soros handed over the leadership of the foundation to his son Alexander Soros, who soon announced layoffs of 40 percent of staff and "significant changes" to the operating model.[21]
Activities
The Library of Congress Soros Foundation Visiting Fellows Program was initiated in 1990.[22][23]
Its $873 million budget in 2013 ranked as the second-largest private philanthropy budget in the United States, after the
In August 2013, the foundation partly sponsored an Aromanian cultural event in Malovište (Aromanian: Mulovishti), North Macedonia.[26]
The foundation reported granting at least $33 million to civil rights and social justice organizations in the United States.
The OSF has been a major financial supporter of US immigration reform, including establishing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.[32]
OSF projects have included the National Security and Human Rights Campaign and the Lindesmith Center, which conducted research on drug reform.[3]
The OSF became a partner of the National Democratic Institute,[33] a charitable organization which partnered with pro-democracy groups like the Gov2U project[34] run by Scytl.[35]
On January 23, 2020, the OSF announced a contribution of $1 billion from George Soros for the new Open Society University Network (OSUN), which provides university courses, programs, and research through shared faculty, and for institutions needing international partners, to serve neglected student populations worldwide. The founding institutions were Bard College and Central European University.[20][36]
In April 2022, OSF announced a grant of $20 million to the International Crisis Group in support of efforts to analyze global issues fuelling violence, climate injustice and economic inequality and providing recommendations to address them.[37]
Reception
In 2007, Nicolas Guilhot (a senior research associate at the
An OSF effort in 2008 in the African Great Lakes region aimed at spreading human rights awareness among prostitutes in Uganda and other nations in the area was not received well by the Ugandan authorities, who considered it an effort to legalize and legitimize prostitution.[39]
Open Society Foundations has been criticized in pro-Israel editorials,
In 2013,
- Active in the Durban strategy;
- Funding aimed at weakening United States support for Israel by shifting public opinion regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iran;
- Funding for Israeli political opposition groups on the fringes of Israeli society, which use the rhetoric of human rights to advocate for marginal political goals."
The report concludes, "Yet, to what degree Soros, his family, and the Open Society Foundations are aware of the cumulative impact on Israel and of the political warfare conducted by many of their beneficiaries is an open question."[43]
In November 2015,
In 2017, Open Society Foundations and other NGOs which promote open government and help refugees were targeted for crackdowns by authoritarian and populist governments who have been emboldened by encouraging signals from the
In 2017, the government of Pakistan ordered the Open Society Foundations to cease operations within the country.[46]
In May 2018, Open Society Foundations announced they will move its office from Budapest to Berlin, amid Hungarian government interference.[47][48][49]
In November 2018, Open Society Foundations announced they are ceasing operations in Turkey and closing their Istanbul and Ankara offices due to "false accusations and speculations beyond measure", amid pressure from Turkish government and governmental interference through detainment of Turkish intellectuals and liberal academics claimed to be associated with the foundation and related NGOs, associations and programmes.[50][51][52]
See also
- Alliance for Open Society International
- Blinken Open Society Archives
- Budapest Open Access Initiative
- Central European University
- Colour revolution
- Directory of Open Access Journals
- Open society
- Open Society Foundations–Armenia
- Open Society Institute-Baltimore
- Transparency International
- Transparify
References
- ^ a b "Open Society Institute - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica. May 9, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ^ Duszak, Alexandra (December 21, 2012). "Donor profile: George Soros". Center for Public Integrity. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- ^ ISBN 9781483389004.
- ^ "Open Society Foundations mission and values", OSI, Soros, September 6, 2012.
- S2CID 15695686.
- ^ a b Callahan, David (September 14, 2015). "Philanthropy vs. Tyranny: Inside the Open Society Foundations' Biggest Battle Yet". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
- ^ "The Open Society Foundations to Close International Operations in Budapest". Open Society Foundations. May 15, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
- ^ "Financials". Open Society Foundations. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
- ^ Tény, Nóvé Béla, Soros (PDF), HU: KKA.
- ISBN 978-0810845855.
- S2CID 144219865.
- ISBN 978-1481758765.
- ISBN 978-0-471-11977-7. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
- ^ "Criminal Justice Expert Named to Lead Soros Foundations". The New York Times. December 11, 2011. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
- ^ "What Just Happened at the Open Society Foundations? And What Comes Next?". Inside Philanthropy. September 14, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
- ^ "Patrick Gaspard Named President of the Open Society Foundations". Retrieved August 7, 2018.
- ^ "Patrick Gaspard to Step Down as Head of Open Society Foundations". Open Society Foundations. December 4, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
- ^ Riley, Michael (August 11, 2016). "Russian Hackers of DNC Said to Nab Secrets From NATO, Soros". Bloomberg. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
- ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ a b Communications (January 23, 2020). "George Soros Launches Global Network to Transform Higher Education". Open Society Foundations. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
- ^ Delouya, Samantha (June 30, 2023). "George Soros' foundation lays off 40% of workforce after passing control over to his son". CNN Business. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
- ISBN 9780810845855.
- ISBN 9780838908082.
- ^ Orlina, Ezekiel Carlo; Ramos-Caraig, Dorcas Juliette (March 6, 2015). "Top philanthropic foundations: A primer". Devex. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
- ^ "Open Society Foundations - Who We Are". www.opensocietyfoundations.org. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
- The Newsletter of the Society Farsharotu. 17 (1–2). April 25, 2004.
- ^ Collins, Ben (August 19, 2015). "No, George Soros Didn't Give $33 Million to #BlackLivesMatter". The Daily Beast. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
- ^ Ferguson Inc. — The city's protest movement tries to find a path forward; Politico; March 4, 2015
- ^ Riot Act;Snopes; January 17, 2015
- ^ Riddell, Kelley (January 4, 2015). "George Soros funds Ferguson protests, hopes to spur civil action". Washington Times. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- ^ MacColl, Spencer (September 21, 2010). "Capital Rivals: Koch Brothers vs. George Soros". OpenSecrets. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- ^ Preston, Julia (November 14, 2014). "The Big Money Behind the Push for an Immigration Overhaul". The New York Times. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- ^ "Partners". www.ndi.org. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
- ^ "Our Partners - Government to You | Gov2U |".
- ^ "Scytl acquires Gov2U's software division expanding its eDemocracy solutions portfolio - MarketWatch". www.marketwatch.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
- ^ "Open Society University Network". osun.bard.edu. opensocietyuniversitynetwork.org. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
- ^ "International Crisis Group receives $20 million from OSF". Philanthropy News Digest. May 3, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
- S2CID 146274470.
- ^ "Uganda prostitute workshop banned". BBC. March 25, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
- ^ "Soros Hack Reveals Evidence of Systemic Anti-Israel Bias". Tablet Magazine. August 14, 2016.
- ^ David Israel (August 14, 2016). "DC Leaks Publishes George Soros' Files Showing Millions Contributed to Anti-Israel Causes". Jewish Press. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
- ^ Kaplan, Rachel (August 14, 2016). "George Soros hacked, documents posted online". israelnationalnews.com. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
- ^ Bad Investment: The Philanthropy of George Soros and the Arab-Israeli Conflict: How Soros-funded Groups Increase Tensions in a Troubled Region, Alexander H. Joffe, Professor Gerald M. Steinberg, May 1, 2013
- ^ "Russia bans George Soros foundation as state security 'threat'". Reuters. November 30, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
- ^ a b "After Trump Win, Anti-Soros Forces Are Emboldened in Eastern Europe". The New York Times. March 1, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
- ^ Sayeed, Saad (December 13, 2017) "Pakistan orders George Soros foundation, other aid groups to close," Reuters
- ^ Heijmans, Philip (May 15, 2018). "George Soros foundation to close office in 'repressive' Hungary". al Jazeera.
- ^ "Soros foundation to leave Hungary". BBC News. May 15, 2018.
- ^ "Soros foundation to close office in Budapest over Hungarian government's 'repressive' policies". The Daily Telegraph. May 15, 2018. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022.
- ^ "Açık Toplum Vakfı Türkiye'deki faaliyetlerini sonlandırıyor". Deutsche Welle Türkçe. November 26, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
- ^ "Soros foundation to close in Turkey after being bashed by Erdogan". Al Jazeera. November 27, 2018.
- ^ "George Soros's Open Society Foundations to pull out of Turkey". The Guardian. Istanbul. November 26, 2018.
Further reading
- ISBN 9780870033414.
- Krizsán, Andrea; Zentai, Viola, eds. (2003). Reshaping Globalization: Multilateral Dialogues and New Policy Initiatives. Budapest: Central European University Press. ISBN 9789639241633..
- Miniter, Richard (September 9, 2011), "Should George Soros be allowed to buy US foreign policy?", Forbes,
Soros, through foundations and his Open Society Institutes, pours some $500 million per year into organizations in the former Soviet world... And Soros gets results. Through strategic donations, Soros helped bring down the communist government in Poland, toppled Serbia's bloodstained strongman Slobodan Milosevic, and fueled the "Rose Revolution" in Georgia. 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.
. - S2CID 154664053.
- Peizer, Jonathan (2005), "The Internet Program: Web Surfing a Revolution", The Dynamics of Technology for Social Change, Ingram Book Group, pp. 1–26.
- Roelofs, Joan (2003), Foundations and Public Policy: The Mask of Pluralism, Albany: SUNY.
- Stone, Diane (2010), Transnational Philanthropy or Policy Transfer? The Transnational Norms of the Open Society Institute, Policy and Politics, vol. 38, pp. 269–87.
- from the original on February 15, 2019.
- Stone, Diana (2013) Knowledge Actors and Transnational Governance: The Private-Public Policy Nexus in the Global Agora. Palgrave Macmillan