OSI Film: Soros in Central Asia

A Wilton Films production, Soros in Central Asia provides a picture of OSI's activities in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. The film is not an exhaustive examination of OSI's work in the region, but the range of projects covered is intended to reflect the breadth of OSI's mission.

The segment on Kazakhstan looks at a small grants program that helped revitalize a remote northern village by providing funding to fix up the local school now the nucleus of the community. The Kyrgyz foundation chose to focus on Open.kg, a television talk show and debate forum that is the centerpiece of its work in promoting government transparency. For Tajikistan, the film features a foundation project that provides legal support to Tajik migrants to Russia and advocates for a more humane approach to the issue of migrant labor.

The film also helps to show how the work of the Soros foundations has evolved. In Kazakhstan, for instance, the foundation is moving away from small-scale grants and toward operational programs, such as the Central Eurasia Project's Revenue Watch, dedicated to ensuring that Kazakhstani citizens have the means to determine the future of their country.