Monday, June 23, 2008

Open Society Institute Expands U.S. Programs Initiative

Open Society Institute studies Katrina
One of the projects of the Open Society Institute is 'Katrina: An Unnatural Disaster'
The Open Society Institute has recently announced that it will expand its U.S. Programs Initiative by $75 million annually.

Under the leadership of human rights advocate Ann Beeson, the U.S. program
will work to promote equality, ensure transparency in government, and reform
criminal justice and national security policies. To that end, OSI's new

Criminal Justice Fund
will work to improve the administration of justice in
the U.S. and reduce the country's over-reliance on mass incarceration and
increasingly harsh punishment, while its

Transparency and Integrity Fund
will work to restore credibility to key
government agencies, revitalize congressional oversight, and increase the
military's accountability. Other initiatives include the

Equality and Opportunity Fund
, which provides support for communities of
color, immigrants, women, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
community; and the

Democracy and Power Fund
, which will work to mobilize youth and communities
of color across a range of progressive issues.


In addition, OSI has announced the launch of two three-year initiatives:

Black Male Achievement
, which will work to confront the stigmatization,
criminalization, and exclusion of African-American men and boys from the
economic and political mainstream; and

National Security and Human Rights
, which will challenge U.S. policies on
torture, surveillance, arbitrary detention, and racial profiling.


"In shaping these programs, we have tried to capture the sense of urgency and
optimism that our grantees bring to today's formidable challenges," said Beeson.
"U.S. Programs will use its resources to ensure that democracy can flourish and
that everyone in this country can participate fully and equally in society."


More info here:

“Recognizing Profound and Urgent Threats to Democracy, the Open Society
Institute Charts New Direction for Its Work in the United States.”
Open
Society Institute Press Release 6/12/08.



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