Education & Youth
Looking Past the Poverty: Life in Roma Ghettos
Roma across Europe face severe discrimination, are deprived of education and employment, and often live in extreme poverty. But these problems aren’t the only thing that defines them.
Read More | See more work on Education & YouthThe Roma are the largest—at around 12 million people—and most disadvantaged ethnic minority in Europe. Throughout the continent they face severe discrimination, are deprived of education and employment, and often live in extreme poverty. This is easily seen if you visit one of the isolated settlements typically situated on the outskirts of otherwise normal cities and towns in Europe. But these problems are not the only thing that characterizes the Roma. Above, a soccer field at the Roma settlement in “Budulovskej Street” in Moldava nad Bodvou, eastern Slovakia.
Read more »Photo credit: © Björn Steinz/Panos for the Open Society Foundations
Rights & Justice
“I Am Kuwaiti”
Fifty years ago, when Kuwait became a country, the bidoon were cut out of the deal. They have been stateless ever since. Photographer Greg Constantine has been documenting their stories.
Read More | See more work on Rights & JusticeSome 15 million people around the world are denied citizenship—they are stateless. Without nationality, they find themselves unable to vote, hold public office, or travel. In some cases, whole minority populations are refused access to even basic services like housing, health care, and education. Kuwait’s stateless bidoon are not permitted to enroll in government schools or universities, and they face harsh restrictions when applying for most formal sector jobs. In this photo, bidoon men sit at a diwaniya, an evening salon for discussion and debate. Like many young men, they are unemployed and without prospects.
Read more »Photo credit: © Greg Constantine for the Open Society Foundations
Governance & Accountability
Burma in Transition
Burma has recently become an epicenter of unexpected, unprecedented, and rapid change. Cause for hope and progress, as well as immense challenges, confront its people.
Read More | See more work on Governance & AccountabilityWith the relaxation of censorship, newsstands have sprung up all over Burma, including this one near 49th Street in downtown Yangon, Burma on December 13, 2012. Still, challenges remain. Some newly uncensored publications have reported the possible hacking of journalists’ email accounts by the government. The government denies the allegations.
Read more »Photo credit: © Ed Kashi for the Open Society Foundations
Health
Improved Health Begins with Rights
In South Africa, current and former sex workers are trained to provide legal services to other sex workers who have been harassed or abused.
Read More | See more work on HealthBassi Nelson is a transgender former sex worker who is now a paralegal for the Women’s Legal Centre and SWEAT (Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce). He provides legal advice by phone to sex workers who have been arrested or harassed by police. Nyanga, Cape Town, South Africa.
Read more »Photo credit: © James Oatway/Panos for the Open Society Foundations
Media & Information
Open Eyes
What does open society mean to you? Documentary photography answers this question in a way words cannot: through images of diversity, of optimism and triumph, of openness and freedom.
Read More | See more work on Media & InformationCan photography help describe what words alone cannot? We asked photographers for images that represent open society to them: images of diversity, of events symbolic of optimism and triumph, of openness and freedom. Above, a student rejoices at an elementary school. Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Read more »Photo credit: © Jon Lowenstein/NOOR
Improve Lives.
We help protect and improve the lives of people in marginalized communities.
Issues
Regions
Grants
Foster Change.
Through grantmaking and advocacy, we support efforts to create a more just world.
Think Broadly.
As we work to advance open society values, we learn and share our expertise.
Open Society Voices
Even at this time of mounting social and economic pressures, solidarity among ordinary people in Europe is still robust, new survey results confirm.
Violations of human rights in health care are widespread in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. A series of how-to manuals offers lawyers, patients, and health officials tools for ensuring proper treatment and care for all.
Events
May
21
Two panels reflect on the recent trial and conviction of former Guatemalan dictator José Efraín Ríos Montt—the first time in history that a domestic court has found a former head of state guilty of genocide.
May
22
A panel reflects on the recent trial and conviction of former Guatemalan dictator José Efraín Ríos Montt—the first time in history that a domestic court has found a former head of state guilty of genocide.
Work Locally.
Our network of programs and regional foundations addresses key issues.
Open Society People
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Senior Legal Officer, National Security and CounterterrorismOpen Society Foundations–New York, Open Society Justice Initiative -
Director, At Home in Europe ProjectOpen Society Foundation–London, Open Society Initiative for Europe -
DirectorOpen Society Foundations–Budapest, Roma Initiatives Office
Programs
The International Higher Education Support Program nurtures capacity and leadership at universities to enable well-informed, vigorous social deliberation.
The Regional Policy Initiative on Afghanistan & Pakistan provides targeted, expert research and advocacy support to address the unique challenges to open society values arising from conflict and insecurity in the region.
The Public Health Program works to strengthen the capacity of marginalized populations to advocate for better health policies and practices. We also push for greater government accountability in health care.