The network of Open Society Foundations or OSF (named Open Society Institute or OSI until 2011), is a grantmaking operation started by George Soros, aimed to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform. On a local level, OSF implements a range of initiatives to support the rule of law, education, public health, and independent media. At the same time, OSF works to build alliances across borders and continents on issues such as combating corruption and rights abuses.
One of the aims of the OSF is the development of civil society organizations (e.g., charities and community groups) to encourage participation in democracy and society. The name is inspired by Karl Popper's 1945 book The Open Society and Its Enemies.
Read more about Open Society Foundations: History, Initiatives, Activities By Regions, Criticism
Famous quotes containing the words open, society and/or foundations:
“Blow the dust off the clock. Your watches are behind the times. Throw open the heavy curtains which are so dear to youyou do not even suspect that the day has already dawned outside.”
—Alexander Solzhenitsyn (b. 1918)
“A society in which adults are estranged from the world of children, and often from their own childhood, tends to hear childrens speech only as a foreign language, or as a lie.... Children have been treated ... as congenital fibbers, fakers and fantasisers.”
—Beatrix Campbell (b. 1947)
“Honorable Senators: My sincerest thanks I offer you. Conserve the firm foundations of our institutions. Do your work with the spirit of a soldier in the public service. Be loyal to the Commonwealth and to yourselves and be brief; above all be brief.”
—Calvin Coolidge (18721933)