Congratulations to Open Society Foundations President Binaifer Nowrojee @NowrojeeOSF for receiving the International Law Institute’s 2025 Lifetime Impact Award! Nowrojee, an international human rights lawyer, has been a leader in human rights for three decades. “Binaifer

Buen vivir is a concept originating in Indigenous and Afro-descendant traditions across Latin America that focuses on belonging, community, and harmony with nature. It offers a powerful framework to expand democracy’s ability to deliver social and economic well-being for people

We must enable environment defenders to put forward solutions that can lead us out of the climate crisis. Read more about the Escazú Agreement: https://t.co/DYTi4tmSRf

Escazú is the result of years of tireless efforts by civil society and activist movements across the region and has empowered them as key stakeholders in the economic and social green transformation. But actual protections on the ground still lag in many places. Effective

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the deadliest region for environmental defenders, the Escazú Agreement protects defenders on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Escazú is the first international agreement to contain specific points on the protection of environmental human

On the sidelines of the G20 summit in South Africa, African leaders, policymakers, civil society, and private sector partners met in Johannesburg for a high-level dialogue on “Turning Mineral Wealth into Negotiating Power: Africa and Critical Minerals Supply Chains.” 🧵

We owe our fundamental freedoms to human rights defenders. I recently spoke @BerkeleyLaw about the important work of protecting them, and standing by them as they don’t just defend rights but also advance them.

With South Africa hosting the G20 and the African Union now a full member, our Nqobile Xaba reflects on this key question: Can the continent turn its resources into leverage for Global South solidarity and shared prosperity?

This includes: ◾️Strengthening  the Escazú Agreement, a major regional treaty that advances the rights to a healthy environment and the protection of environmental defenders ◾️Accelerating green economic growth that accelerates opportunity for all, including funds focused on

Climate action must be anchored in dignity and harmony with nature, drawing from Indigenous and traditional knowledge that emphasizes collective care for people and planet. At COP30, Open Society announced a commitment to support Latin America’ s environmental defenders and a

“Climate finance is not sufficient” to tackle climate change. “Instead, technology transfers and reforms to the global IP regime must be at the center of climate negotiations.” Our @lauraabcarvalho in @ProSyn:

The A to Zs of Democracy: Ubuntu The Ubuntu philosophy is rooted in African culture—“I am because you are.” It emphasizes interconnectedness, interdependency, and mutual respect. Ubuntu lays out an approach for a future where there is a collective commitment to respect,

Next week I am headed to #COP30, where @OpenSociety will continue conversations from UNGA and NY Climate Week. Ten years since the historic Paris Climate Agreement, the world is on track to exceed the 1.5°C limit. Just when multilateral cooperation is needed most, it is fraying.

We are witnessing what we are calling a youthquake all around the world—young people who haven't even grown up in democracies beginning to articulate and ask for societies that uphold human rights, equity, and justice. This is what democracy with dignity could look like.

Learn more in an in-depth look at the history, legacy, and future of this work through profiles of Roma leaders across the continent.

Better inclusion of Roma “is not only a moral imperative. It it also essential to Europe’s long-term prosperity,” says Zeljko Jovanović, president of the Roma Foundation for Europe.

Beginning with his philanthropy in Europe in the 1980s, through today and beyond, Mr. Soros saw his own history reflected in the struggles of Roma in Europe. His steadfast support, beginning with the Roma program here at Open Society and now spun-off as the independent Roma

For over 40 years, George Soros has been the leading private supporter of Europe’s Roma—the continent’s largest and most excluded ethnic minority. Through the Open Society Foundations, he has championed Roma civil society, enabling Roma leaders to fight for equal opportunity and

To examine how youth-led political initiatives and uprisings are reshaping democracy and confronting authoritarianism across the Global South, Open Society and @Yiaga are co-hosting the “South-South Social Movements Convergence” in Cape Town, South Africa October 30-November 2

Social movements around Africa, often led by young people, have been calling for democracies that empower ordinary citizens, deliver political stability, and support economic well-being. We asked people to define what democracy with dignity means for them⬇️