Soros Foundation
Encyclopedia
A Soros Foundation is one of a network of national foundation
s, mostly in Central
and Eastern Europe
, which fund volunteer socio-political activity, created by George Soros
, international financier and self-proclaimed philanthropist, and coordinated since early 1994 by a management team called the Open Society Institute
.
Soros says that the principle underlying the philosophy of the Open Society is that there can be no absolute answers to political questions because the same principle of reflexivity applies as in the Financial Markets .
Soros foundations are autonomous institutions established in particular countries or regions, especially those emerging from behind the iron curtain
to initiate and support open society activities. Such countries include the former Communist bloc in Central and Eastern Europe, parts of the former Soviet Union
, South Africa
, and Haiti
. The priorities and specific activities of each Soros foundation are determined by a local board of directors and staff in consultation with George Soros and OSI boards and advisers. In addition to support from the Open Society Institute, many of the foundations receive funding from other sources.
Intended programs include "the education of librarians and others; expansion of a free press
, Internet
, and e-mail
communication; publishing; human rights
; arts and culture; and social, legal, and economic reform". One such program, for example, is the Library of Congress
- Soros Foundation Visiting Fellows Program for librarians. George Soros insists that staff in local Soros Foundation offices conduct the initial interviews of applicants and then allow LC to make the final decisions.
Soros very much seeks to "influence the future of the newly democratized Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union...[through] educating librarians about how to improve their libraries and assist the policymakers of their countries..[in order to] provide a strong foundation for democracy". Another example of Soros's commitment to the development of Eastern Europe in particular is his pledge of $206 million to the endowment of Central European University.
In 1997 George Soros received the James Madison Award from the Coalition on Government Information. He has also been compared to Andrew Carnegie
by Barabara Ford, president of American Library Association
, insofar as his philanthropy, if on an international scale.
Catholic
s have criticized the Soros Foundation for its financial support for nominally-Catholic dissenting factions, who have decidedly non-Catholic views on birth control
and abortion, among other moral issues.
Foundation (charity)
A foundation is a legal categorization of nonprofit organizations that will typically either donate funds and support to other organizations, or provide the source of funding for its own charitable purposes....
s, mostly in Central
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, which fund volunteer socio-political activity, created by George Soros
George Soros
George Soros is a Hungarian-American business magnate, investor, philosopher, and philanthropist. He is the chairman of Soros Fund Management. Soros supports progressive-liberal causes...
, international financier and self-proclaimed philanthropist, and coordinated since early 1994 by a management team called the Open Society Institute
Open Society Institute
The Open Society Institute , renamed in 2011 to Open Society Foundations, is a private operating and grantmaking foundation started by George Soros, aimed to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform...
.
Soros says that the principle underlying the philosophy of the Open Society is that there can be no absolute answers to political questions because the same principle of reflexivity applies as in the Financial Markets .
Soros foundations are autonomous institutions established in particular countries or regions, especially those emerging from behind the iron curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
to initiate and support open society activities. Such countries include the former Communist bloc in Central and Eastern Europe, parts of the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
. The priorities and specific activities of each Soros foundation are determined by a local board of directors and staff in consultation with George Soros and OSI boards and advisers. In addition to support from the Open Society Institute, many of the foundations receive funding from other sources.
Intended programs include "the education of librarians and others; expansion of a free press
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
, Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, and e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
communication; publishing; human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
; arts and culture; and social, legal, and economic reform". One such program, for example, is the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
- Soros Foundation Visiting Fellows Program for librarians. George Soros insists that staff in local Soros Foundation offices conduct the initial interviews of applicants and then allow LC to make the final decisions.
Soros very much seeks to "influence the future of the newly democratized Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union...[through] educating librarians about how to improve their libraries and assist the policymakers of their countries..[in order to] provide a strong foundation for democracy". Another example of Soros's commitment to the development of Eastern Europe in particular is his pledge of $206 million to the endowment of Central European University.
In 1997 George Soros received the James Madison Award from the Coalition on Government Information. He has also been compared to Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
by Barabara Ford, president of American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
, insofar as his philanthropy, if on an international scale.
Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
s have criticized the Soros Foundation for its financial support for nominally-Catholic dissenting factions, who have decidedly non-Catholic views on birth control
Birth control
Birth control is an umbrella term for several techniques and methods used to prevent fertilization or to interrupt pregnancy at various stages. Birth control techniques and methods include contraception , contragestion and abortion...
and abortion, among other moral issues.