George Soros Awarded European Civil Rights Prize of the Sinti and Roma

BERLIN—The Open Society Foundations are proud to announce that George Soros was awarded the European Civil Rights Prize of the Sinti and Roma.

The prize was established in memory of Holocaust survivors and pioneers of the Roma civil rights movement, Oskar and Vinzenz Rose, and was endowed by Germany’s leading, charitable institution the Manfred Lautenschläger Foundation.

The prize has been awarded in recognition of George Soros’s decades-long commitment to advancing the rights, dignity, and empowerment of Roma communities across Europe.

For over four decades, George Soros, founder of the Open Society Foundations, has been a steadfast ally of the Roma—the largest and most disadvantaged ethnic minority in Europe.

Through sustained philanthropic efforts, Soros has supported Roma-led organizations to confront discrimination, expand access to education and justice, improve early childhood development and health care, and amplify Roma voices in public life. This includes supporting the creation of the European Roma Rights Centre, the Roma Education Fund, and the Decade of Roma Inclusion, which collectively helped more than 150,000 Roma students attend school, challenged segregation before the European Court of Human Rights, and elevated Roma voices in public discourse. In 2017, the Council of Europe and the Open Society Foundations provided institutional, material, and financial support to launch the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture in Berlin.

This work culminated in the 2024 launch of the Roma Foundation for Europe—an independent, Roma-led institution established with a €100 million pledge from the Open Society Foundations.

Soros’s current commitment also extends to economic empowerment. Through the Soros Economic Development Fund, Open Society Foundations backed a Roma Entrepreneurship Development Initiative pilot program, which showed that Roma entrepreneurs—long excluded from Europe’s formal economy—are just as creditworthy as their non-Roma peers when given fair access to financing, challenging entrenched assumptions about risk and reliability.

Accepting the award on behalf of his father, Alex Soros, chair of the Open Society Foundations, said:

“My father’s partnership with Roma communities has always been grounded in a deep belief in justice, dignity, and self-determination. This prize is a powerful recognition of that shared journey—and a call to continue the fight against prejudice and exclusion. As a child, I accompanied my parents on visits across Europe to meet Roma leaders and their families. Those experiences left a lasting impression on me and shaped my own commitment to human rights. Today, as chair of the Open Society Foundations, I am proud to carry forward this vital work and stand alongside Roma communities in their pursuit of equal rights and freedom. The discrimination that Roma experience is a threat to all of Europe. None of us are free until we are all free.”

George Soros believes that true integration will be achieved only when Roma people are no longer disadvantaged because of their ethnicity. He sees their struggle as a vital test of Europe’s commitment to its own principles of equality and human rights. In a statement, he reflected on his long-standing relationship with the Roma community:

“The Roma have endured centuries of discrimination and marginalization, rooted in a long history of violence—from the Holocaust to forced sterilization, child removals, and evictions. These injustices continue to resurface, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic and, more recently, when Roma fleeing the war in Ukraine faced barriers to shelter and aid. I’ve always believed that open societies must protect the rights of all people—especially those who are excluded. Working alongside Roma leaders and communities has been one of the most meaningful parts of my life’s work.”

The European Civil Rights Prize of the Sinti and Roma, established in 2007 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma, honors individuals, groups, or institutions—primarily from the majority population—who make extraordinary efforts to improve the human rights situation of Sinti and Roma. Since 2019, it has been awarded in memory of Holocaust survivors Oskar and Vinzenz Rose, pioneers of the Roma civil rights movement in Germany. The 2023 recipient was American architect Daniel Libeskind for his contributions to the culture of remembrance and for his architectural work that memorializes both the Sinti and Roma and Jewish victims of the Holocaust. In 2021, it was awarded to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel for her leadership in promoting inclusion and confronting discrimination.

George Soros announced he will donate the prize money to the Roma Education Fund, which empowers Roma communities through access to skills and employment programs and quality education—from early childhood to tertiary levels—strengthening their resilience and capacity to thrive amid social and economic challenges.