The mission of the Central Eurasia Project is to promote human rights and social progress in the South Caucasus, Central Asia and Mongolia, both regionally and internationally.  In addition to regional initiatives, the project also manages Open Society Institute activities related to the closed society countries in the region without Soros foundations, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

In its work the Central Eurasia Project develops effective programs and campaigns with broad international impact under very challenging circumstances.  It uses policy, research, and advocacy tools as well as knowledge production to shape broader policy debate about the region. With its grantmaking and operational activities, the project remains an important advocate of bringing about societal and political integration of marginalized groups in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

The Central Eurasia Project uses grantmaking to international and indigenous NGOs to help build local capacity, bring international expertise to bear on the region, and promote cooperation between local activists and international civic movements in the fields of human rights, the environment, and transparent governance. The ultimate goal of such activity is to strengthen civic leaders in the region and construct support networks for them within international structures and movements. The CEP’s grantmaking generally dovetails with its research and advocacy agenda.

During 2008, the Central Eurasia Project launched several new initiatives and made significant progress with longstanding efforts in strengthening the capacity of local human rights organizations and civil society activists, advancing the campaign to stop the practice of forced child labor in Uzbekistan, and advocating for increased environmental protection and extractive industry revenue transparency in Turkmenistan.

Read more about the Central Eurasia Project's 2008 activities.