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. For a list of initiatives that have been closed down or are no longer affiliated with OSI, view the Past and Spin-Off Initiatives section.
The Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project (AfriMAP) monitors the compliance of member states of the African Union with selected standards of good governance, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.
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.
The Burma Project/Southeast Asia Initiative focuses on open society issues throughout Southeast Asia, particularly in Burma but also in other countries where essential freedoms are threatened.
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.
This national program is designed to create awareness of—and increase resources to close—an alarming gap in the availability of drug and alcohol addiction treatment for Americans who need it.
Through grantmaking, exhibitions, and training workshops, the Documentary Photography Project supports photographers whose work addresses social justice and human rights issues that coincide with OSI’s mission.
The Early Childhood Program is an education reform program that introduces child-centered teaching methods and supports community and family involvement in preschool and primary school.
The Open Society Initiative for East Africa supports and promotes public participation in democratic governance, the rule of law, and respect for human rights by awarding grants, developing programs, and bringing together diverse civil society leaders and groups.
The East East: Partnership Beyond Borders Program supports international exchanges that bring together civil society actors to share ideas, information, knowledge, experiences, and expertise and to support practical actions that result from that networking.
The Education Support Program works to facilitate change in education and national policy development in Central and Eastern Europe, South East Europe, former Soviet Union and Mongolia.
EUMAP (the EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program) monitors the development of selected human rights and rule of law issues in both the European Union and in its candidate and potential candidate countries.
The Global Drug Policy Program aims to engage and support drug policy experts and other related professionals as they analyze and publicize the effects of drug policy on public health, human rights, national security, and the economy.
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.
The Information Program promotes the equitable deployment of knowledge and communications resources for civic empowerment and effective democratic governance.
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.
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.
The Local Government & Public Service Reform Initiative promotes democratic and effective governance and public administration, and advances policy analysis as a tool for decision making in public affairs.
The Media Program assists in the development and establishment of media systems marked by freedom, pluralism, and the inclusion of minority voices and opinions.
OSI's Middle East & North Africa Initiative operates primarily as a grantmaking program on issues ranging from media and information to women's rights.
The Open Society Fellowship enables innovative professionals—including journalists, activists, academics, and practitioners—to work on projects that inspire meaningful public debate, shape public policy, and generate intellectual ferment within the Open Society Institute.
The Open Society Justice Initiative, an operational program of the Open Society Institute, pursues law reform activities grounded in the protection of human rights, and contributes to the development of legal capacity for open societies worldwide.
OSI-Baltimore focuses on helping youth succeed, reducing the social and economic costs of incarceration, tackling drug addiction, and building a corps of Community Fellows to bring innovative ideas to Baltimore’s underserved communities.
Established in 1997, OSI-Brussels acts as a liaison to facilitate collaboration among the organizations of the Soros foundations network and West European partners, including the various institutions of the European Union, bilateral donors, and nongovernmental organizations.
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.
The OSI Public Health Program supports initiatives throughout the Soros foundations network that encourage sustainable change in public health policy and practice.
OSI Roma Initiatives focus primarily on improving the social, political, and economic situation of Romani populations in Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans region.
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.
The Special Initiatives program was established to develop a set of global grant-giving projects that build upon the Soros network’s strengths in promoting human rights and accountability.
The OSI Think Tank Fund supports independent policy centers in Europe and Central Eurasia that strengthen democratic processes.
The Turkmenistan Project promotes civil society in Turkmenistan via grantmaking and programmatic activities in areas such as arts and culture, access to information, and public health.
OSI's U.S. Programs aims to address core threats to open society, including increasingly punitive national security policies, decreasing government transparency, entrenched structural racism, and growing incarceration rates.
The International Women’s Program promotes the advancement of women’s human rights, gender equality, and empowerment as an integral part of the process of democratization.
The OSI Youth Initiative seeks to empower youth to become active citizens who are willing and able to influence public life and promote open society ideals.