- Deadline
- Passed
The Open Society Fellowship is designed to support individuals pursuing innovative and unconventional approaches to fundamental open society challenges.
Since 2008, the Open Society Fellowship has supported heterodox thinkers and practitioners from around the world. The fellowship helps elevate new voices to take part in global conversations on the most pressing issues of our time—from human rights and social justice to climate change and inequality—and provide established public intellectuals new audiences for their work. This year’s fellows will be chosen from selected areas, each home to a dynamic community of thinkers engaged in high-level critical debate.
We look forward to announcing the latest group of fellows in spring 2025.
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Noah Zatz
2017Noah Zatz examined how government threats of incarceration force people in the United States into precarious and underpaid work situations, a phenomenon he calls “get to work or go to jail.” -
Chitrangada Choudhury
2014Chitrangada Choudhury, a journalist and researcher, was chronicling the profound effects of resource conflicts on the lives of marginalized and indigenous communities in India’s forested mineral belt. -
Katrin Hansing
2014Katrin Hansing was examining the impact of the complex economic and social reforms taking place in Cuba. -
Leonard Wantchekon
2014Leonard Wantchekon was examining the complex relationship between rural infrastructure availability and food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa. -
Michael Bach
2014Michael Bach was designing a strategy that enables people with significant disabilities to enjoy full recognition under the law. -
Michael Sfard
2014Michael Sfard, an attorney specializing in international humanitarian law and human rights, was examining the last four decades of human rights litigation in Israel on issues related to the occupied Palestinian territories. -
Prashant Sharma
2014Prashant Sharma, an expert in governance and development, was examining whether public–private partnerships are accountable to citizens in India. -
Angelo Izama
2012Angelo Izama chronicled the rise of the oil sector in Uganda to find ways to counteract the “resource curse.” -
Asim Rafiqui
2012Photojournalist Asim Rafiqui used a variety of media to present a more nuanced and personal perspective on the issue of access to justice in Pakistan. -
David Cole
2012As an Open Society Fellow, David Cole was writing a book that explores the effectiveness of civil society organizations in making human rights meaningful. -
Diarmid O’Sullivan
2012Diarmid O’Sullivan investigated whether transparency in extractive industries led to greater accountability in resource-rich countries. -
Jacob Dlamini
2012Jacob Dlamini’s work examines the lingering effects of the apartheid-era culture of secrecy on South Africa’s efforts to forge a democratic and open society. -
Jameel Jaffer
2012Jameel Jaffer worked on a book tracing the erosion of individual privacy and the expansion of official secrecy since September 11, 2001. -
James Forman, Jr.
2012As an Open Society Fellow, James Forman, Jr., was working on an account of crime and criminal justice policy in Washington, D.C., from the early 1970s to the present. -
John Feffer
2012John Feffer interviewed leading activists and writers in Eastern Europe to derive lessons about the Soviet collapse and its aftermath. -
Mark Gevisser
2012As an Open Society Fellow, Mark Gevisser examined the reach and effect of the growing global campaign for the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and intersexed people against the backdrop of globalization. -
Martina Vandenberg
2012Martina Vandenberg created a legal clearinghouse to assist trafficking victims in the United States. -
Petina Gappah
2012Petina Gappah surveyed the rising influence of Pentecostal churches in Africa and their effect on human rights, democracy, and social justice. -
Sarah Spencer
2012As an Open Society Fellow, Sarah Spencer investigated the provision of essential services to irregular migrants across Europe. -
Suki Kim
2012Suki Kim researched the political economy of migration from North Korea and recorded the stories of ordinary people caught in the division of the two Koreas.
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