Open Society Foundations

Open Society Foundations’ Soros Economic Development Fund Commits $25 Million to Allied Climate Partners’ Climate Finance Partnership

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 27, 2024

New York, Feb. 27, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF), the impact investment arm of the Open Society Foundations, is committing $25 million to Allied Climate Partners (ACP)—a new and innovative public-private partnership focused on increasing the number of bankable climate projects in emerging markets and developing economies around the world.

Key Points: 
  • New York, Feb. 27, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF), the impact investment arm of the Open Society Foundations, is committing $25 million to Allied Climate Partners (ACP)—a new and innovative public-private partnership focused on increasing the number of bankable climate projects in emerging markets and developing economies around the world.
  • ACP aims to address a critical financing gap at the early, risk-oriented stages of the development process.
  • Without this support, many projects and businesses struggle to attract the necessary capital to achieve their climate-related goals.
  • These regional funds will in turn seek to raise an additional $600+ million in senior equity from multilateral development banks (MDBs), development finance institutions (DFIs), and private investors.

Spyware Accountability Initiative, with seed funding from Apple and leading philanthropies, announces $4 million in grants to address the harms of spyware on civil society

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, March 6, 2024

NEW YORK, March 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, leading philanthropies in partnership with Apple announced over $4 million in grants through the Spyware Accountability Initiative to address the harms of the global spyware industry on civil society.

Key Points: 
  • NEW YORK, March 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, leading philanthropies in partnership with Apple announced over $4 million in grants through the Spyware Accountability Initiative to address the harms of the global spyware industry on civil society.
  • Over the next five years, the Spyware Accountability Initiative will support a growing community of researchers and advocacy organizations investigating, exposing, and bringing accountability to the global mercenary spyware trade.
  • The aim of the Spyware Accountability Initiative is to grow a global field of civil society organizations who are advancing threat research, advocacy and accountability to address the use and trade of spyware.
  • Groups supported by grants through the Spyware Accountability Initiative include:
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Atlas of Impunity's second edition tracks abuse of power worldwide and includes historical data set

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 16, 2024

MUNICH, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Eurasia Group and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs released the second edition of the Atlas of Impunity today at the Munich Security Conference. The Atlas is the first-ever comprehensive index tracking the abuse of power across five key dimensions: unaccountable governance, abuse of human rights, conflict, economic exploitation, and environmental degradation.

Key Points: 
  • The Atlas is the first-ever comprehensive index tracking the abuse of power across five key dimensions: unaccountable governance, abuse of human rights, conflict, economic exploitation, and environmental degradation.
  • The Atlas defines impunity as the exercise of power without accountability, built on 66 statistical indicators drawn from 26 validated sources.
  • The data underpinning the Atlas is curated from universal, independent, and credible sources with annually updated statistics.
  • In this second edition, the Atlas adds a decade of historical data, allowing for comparisons within countries and regions across years that illuminate where the battle between impunity and accountability is being won or lost.

Nonprofit Legal Expert Catherine Livingston Joins the American Institutes for Research as Chief Legal Officer

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Arlington, Va., Jan. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Catherine E. Livingston, an attorney with broad experience working in the nonprofit and government contracting sectors, will join the American Institutes for Research (AIR) as Chief Legal Officer, effective February 1.

Key Points: 
  • Arlington, Va., Jan. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Catherine E. Livingston, an attorney with broad experience working in the nonprofit and government contracting sectors, will join the American Institutes for Research (AIR) as Chief Legal Officer, effective February 1.
  • In her new position, Livingston will oversee all internal and external legal matters for AIR, including compliance with laws, regulations and policies related to all institutional interests.
  • Livingston will also serve as AIR’s in-house ethics officer and secretary to the AIR Board of Directors.
  • “I’m so pleased to welcome Catherine to AIR and look forward to working with her to ensure a strong legal foundation for our institution,” said Lawrence D. Bobo , chair of the AIR Board of Directors .

Open Society Foundations Announce 2023 Soros Justice Fellows

Retrieved on: 
Friday, November 3, 2023

New York, Nov. 03, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Open Society Foundations is pleased to announce the 2023 cohort of Soros Justice Fellows, which includes a mix of emerging and established leaders in the field of criminal justice reform, including public educators, artists, lawyers, activists, non-profit innovators, journalists, and filmmakers from across the United States.

Key Points: 
  • New York, Nov. 03, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Open Society Foundations is pleased to announce the 2023 cohort of Soros Justice Fellows, which includes a mix of emerging and established leaders in the field of criminal justice reform, including public educators, artists, lawyers, activists, non-profit innovators, journalists, and filmmakers from across the United States.
  • “Over the more than a decade that I have worked with the Soros Justice Fellowships, I’ve seen a great number of fellows go on and continue to serve as changemakers in their local communities, and nationally,” said Adam Culbreath, Senior Team Manager at Open Society–U.S.
  • Today, nearly 10 million Americans—including millions of children—have an immediate family member in jail or prison,” said Christina Voight, program manager at Open Society–U.S.
  • The Soros Justice Fellowships were founded in 1997 and have funded over 400 individuals working to curb mass incarceration and ensure a fair and equitable system of justice.

CERN Inaugurates Science Gateway, Its New Outreach Centre for Science Education

Retrieved on: 
Saturday, October 7, 2023

CERN has inaugurated its new emblematic centre for science education and outreach targeting a public of all ages.

Key Points: 
  • CERN has inaugurated its new emblematic centre for science education and outreach targeting a public of all ages.
  • GENEVA, October 7, 2023 – Today, CERN inaugurated its new state-of-the-art facility for science education and outreach.
  • CERN Science Gateway will be open to the public as of tomorrow, 8 October 2023.
  • The inauguration ceremony began with an address by Fabiola Gianotti, the CERN Director-General, who stressed the value of education and outreach with the public.

Global Centre for Climate Mobility: World leaders rally for immediate action to address existential threats posed by sea-level rise to Pacific countries

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, September 21, 2023

NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Recognizing the urgency of addressing the existential threats of sea-level rise, today a group of champion countries convened a "Summit on Addressing the Existential Threats posed by Sea-level Rise" to press forward with immediate global action.

Key Points: 
  • NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Recognizing the urgency of addressing the existential threats of sea-level rise, today a group of champion countries convened a "Summit on Addressing the Existential Threats posed by Sea-level Rise" to press forward with immediate global action.
  • Heads of State, ministers and senior officials gathered to pledge support for concrete action to address these threats.
  • At the Summit, leaders committed to address the threats posed by sea-level rise, including through the formation of a new Coalition to build momentum and press for urgent global action.
  • "This Summit is an opportunity to accelerate global action to urgently address the threats of sea-level rise," said Prof. Kamal Amakrane, Managing Director of the Global Centre for Climate Mobility."

Global Centre for Climate Mobility: World leaders rally for immediate action to address existential threats posed by sea-level rise to Pacific countries

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, September 21, 2023

NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Recognizing the urgency of addressing the existential threats of sea-level rise, today a group of champion countries convened a "Summit on Addressing the Existential Threats posed by Sea-level Rise" to press forward with immediate global action.

Key Points: 
  • NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Recognizing the urgency of addressing the existential threats of sea-level rise, today a group of champion countries convened a "Summit on Addressing the Existential Threats posed by Sea-level Rise" to press forward with immediate global action.
  • Heads of State, ministers and senior officials gathered to pledge support for concrete action to address these threats.
  • At the Summit, leaders committed to address the threats posed by sea-level rise, including through the formation of a new Coalition to build momentum and press for urgent global action.
  • "This Summit is an opportunity to accelerate global action to urgently address the threats of sea-level rise," said Prof. Kamal Amakrane, Managing Director of the Global Centre for Climate Mobility. "

Black-Owned Strategic Insights Company A--B Acquires Research Firm Avalanche Insights

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, July 26, 2023

NEW YORK, July 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A—B, the Black-owned, full-service strategic insights company helping brands, leaders, and progressive causes build and design successful campaigns, today announced its acquisition of Avalanche Insights, a polling and civic research firm which specializes in innovative research methods that deliver sharp, nuanced insights with speed and scale. The acquisition by A—B — the award-winning firm which has developed campaigns for film studio A24, leading civil rights organization Legal Defense Fund, progressive political group Working Families Party, and social justice philanthropic organization Ford Foundation — will expand its capabilities by offering an even more powerful research and data engine to provide clients with a competitive edge to reach people of color in today's fast-paced market and evolving political landscape.

Key Points: 
  • A—B has acquired Avalanche to fill this gap and bring the next level of precision and innovation to multicultural marketing.
  • "At Avalanche, our goal has always been to build power by using the strength of research to drive campaigns to victory.
  • Inside A—B, Avalanche will now be able to offer more comprehensive services to help transformational leaders better understand people," said Tovah Paglaro , Cofounder of Avalanche Insights.
  • Avalanche Insights will join the current A—B research team, led by Head of Research Sian Lewis , a seasoned data scientist with expertise in building research-backed narrative strategies.

New Report Shares Local NGO Leaders’ Perspectives on Locally-Led Development

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, July 6, 2023

NNGO Voices: Leader Perspectives on Locally-Led Development is the third in the Collective Journey to Equitable Development series .

Key Points: 
  • NNGO Voices: Leader Perspectives on Locally-Led Development is the third in the Collective Journey to Equitable Development series .
  • The report collected and summarized findings from interviews with 50 senior NNGO leaders in six African countries, as well as conversations from Humentum’s webinar series Operationalizing Locally-Led Development , which included more than 2,000 participants.
  • "The data point we heard repeatedly was that local leaders are not involved in shifting development from being led by international organizations to local organizations,” said Ennie Chipembere, Director of Locally-Led Development at Humentum.
  • “Our overarching recommendation is that NNGO leaders need to be at the table for these decisions around equitable development.