Freedom House is a U.S.-based non-governmental organization (NGO) that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Willkie and Eleanor Roosevelt served as its first honorary chairpersons. It describes itself as a "clear voice for democracy and freedom around the world".
The organization's annual Freedom in the World report, which assesses each country's degree of political freedoms and civil liberties, is frequently cited by political scientists, journalists, and policy-makers. Freedom of the Press and Freedom of the Net, which monitor censorship, intimidation and violence against journalists, and public access to information, are among its other signature reports.
As of 2010, US federal government grants accounted for most of Freedom House's funding. While widely regarded as a reliable source, some critics have accused Freedom House’s reports of bias or of promoting U.S. government interests abroad. However, other evaluations have found reports to align closely with freedom indices from other sources.
Read more about Freedom House: History, Organization, Other Activities, Criticism, Systematic Evaluations, Recognition
Famous quotes containing the words freedom and/or house:
“Bodhidharma sailing the Yangtze on a reed
Lenin in a sealed train through Germany
Hsuan Tsang, crossing the Pamirs
Joseph, Crazy Horse, living the last free
starving high-country winter of their tribes.
Surrender into freedom revolt into slavery—”
—Gary Snyder (b. 1930)
“I sometimes left a good fire when I went to take a walk in a winter afternoon; and when I returned, three or four hours afterward, it would be still alive and glowing. My house was not empty though I was gone. It was as if I had left a cheerful housekeeper behind. It was I and Fire that lived there; and commonly my housekeeper proved trustworthy.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)