Open Society Foundations

Grantmaking network founded by George Soros

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December 2024 Open Society Foundation reaffirmed its commitment to human rights by pledging support for community-based activists, national and regional rights groups, and establishing rapid-response funds for emerging crises.
March 11 2024 OSF announced Binaifer Nowrojee would start as the group's new president on June 1, 2024.
2023 George Soros handed over leadership of the foundation to his son Alexander Soros, who announced 40 percent staff layoffs and significant operational changes.
November 22 2022 EU Ambassador to Armenia Andrea Wiktorin and Open Society Armenia held a forum discussing Armenia-EU relations, implementation of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, and strengthening Armenia's democracy.
June 2022 Armenian lawyers Tigran Atanesyan and Margarita Gyulumyan filed a court petition to shut down OSF Armenia, alleging the organization's operations pose a 'threat to national security and public order'.
April 2022 Announced a $20 million grant to the International Crisis Group to support analysis of global issues related to violence, climate injustice, and economic inequality.
July 5 2021 Members of the European Party of Armenia met with OSF Armenia in Yerevan, expressing gratitude for the organization's contributions to advancing democracy in Armenia.
2020 Following the Nagorno-Karabakh war, OSF Armenia provided over $535,000 in humanitarian aid to support Artsakh's civilian population and assisted human rights defenders in pursuing justice for war crime victims.
January 29 2020 Former OSF Armenia director Larisa Minasian publicly denounced an 'unprecedented' smear campaign against the organization, highlighting attempts to undermine the foundation's support for government reforms and democratic institutions.
January 23 2020 Announced a $1 billion contribution from George Soros to establish the Open Society University Network (OSUN), supporting university courses and research for neglected student populations, with Bard College and Central European University as founding institutions.
June 5 2019 A coalition of nearly 70 civil societies and NGOs signed a memorandum supporting OSF Armenia, praising its efforts and backing the 2018 Armenian revolution while calling for increased freedom of expression and human rights protection.
November 2018 Open Society Foundations ceased operations in Turkey, closing its Istanbul and Ankara offices amid government pressure and false accusations.
May 2018 Open Society Foundations announced relocation of its office from Budapest to Berlin due to Hungarian government interference.
January 2018 Patrick Gaspard was appointed president of the Open Society Foundations.
2017 Pakistan ordered Open Society Foundations to cease operations in the country.
2017 Open Society Foundations and other NGOs faced increased targeting by authoritarian and populist governments, with right-leaning politicians in Eastern Europe expressing hostility towards the organization.
2017 George Soros transferred $18 billion to the foundation.
2016 OSF was reportedly the target of a cyber security breach, with documents published on a website, potentially linked to Russian-style cyberattacks.
November 2015 Russia banned Open Society Foundations, declaring the organization a threat to the constitutional system and state security.
2013 NGO Monitor published a report critiquing Open Society Foundations' funding practices, alleging contributions to anti-Israel campaigns and funding of political opposition groups.
October 22 2013 The foundation organized a presentation of the 'European Integration Index for Eastern Partnership Countries' report to measure and compare European integration reforms.
August 2013 Partly sponsored an Aromanian cultural event in Malovište, North Macedonia.
2012 OSF helped Armenian universities implement educational reforms, with Yerevan State University receiving 32 grants totaling $770,267 between 1998 and 2014.
2012 Christopher Stone became the second president of OSF, replacing Aryeh Neier who had served from 1993 to 2012.
August 2010 The organization started using the name Open Society Foundations (OSF) to better reflect its global civil society support role.

This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Open Society Foundations–Armenia & Open Society Foundations, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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