Open Society Foundations

06/15/2026

Open Society Fellow Camille Ammoun is a writer and policy advisor who works on urban development, climate change, and political economy.

As part of his fellowship, he is using the concept of psychogeography to understand the current global polycrisis through the lens of the Beirut River, its little-known eponymous river. Psychogeography is the study of how the geographical environment, specifically in urban settings, influences the emotions and behavior of individuals.

By transforming the river, from its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea to the summits of Mount Lebanon into a literary text, he will explore how climate change, the increasing frequency of conflict, the rise of undemocratic forces, and many others are shaping our contemporary world.

The final product will be a transmedia manifestation of this river. Combining narrative, performances, short videos, photographs and more, it will tell Beirut’s story from different yet complementary perspectives.

Interested in this approach? Camille recommends following and for inspiration.

06/10/2026

The United States under the Trump administration is deporting thousands of asylum seekers and people seeking protection to third countries, where they often haven’t been, don’t speak the language, and don’t have family or friends as a support network—in violation of the U.S. government’s protection obligations and international law.

This deportation regime is built around a web of opaque agreements with receiving countries, where those deported face detention, pressure to leave, or onward deportation to the very places they fled. The asylum systems in most of these countries have already been collapsing.

The Open Society Justice Initiative is supporting lawyers in some of these receiving countries in challenging these transfers in court. And some have already responded to litigation by releasing some detainees or pledging not to send others to dangerous destinations.

But the deportations continue to accelerate, and for many people, the law may arrive too late.

As James A. Goldston and Natasha Arnpriester of the Open Society Justice Initiative argue in The Guardian, the U.S. must end this practice, and the countries it asks to participate must say no.

Read more through the link in the comments.



Photos: Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu/Getty, Zheng Yangzi/Xinhua/Getty, Stephen Maturen/Getty

06/09/2026

The future of human rights is being written by a new generation of advocates. Open Society President Binaifer Nowrojee discusses the communities and movements defending rights worldwide at a Chatham House event on June 15 at 16:00 BST. Register to attend in person or online through the link in the comments.

06/01/2026

Recent events, including the fatal shooting at a mosque in San Diego and stabbings targeting the Jewish community in London, show how the demonization of faith communities can deepen divisions in society and lead to terrible violence.

Muslim and Jewish communities are often pitted against each other. Similarly, antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate are often countered separately.

As Open Society President Binaifer Nowrojee writes in The Guardian, these hatreds cannot be defeated apart. That’s why we recently announced a $30 million initiative to counter both antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate and keep communities safe across faiths.

Read Binaifer’s full piece through the link in comments.

05/31/2026

Our recently announced anti-hate initiative focuses on confronting antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate together as we support efforts to protect communities, build bridges, and safeguard lawful expression and free debate.

Read more from Open Society President Binaifer Nowrojee:

The two hatreds have rarely been seen as related dangers. But they overlap even as Muslim and Jewish communities are pitted against each other

05/28/2026

05/22/2026

05/21/2026

“The irony is that corporate silence poses dangers not only to the foundational pillars of democratic capitalism but also, by extension, to bottom lines,” writes Georgia Levenson Keohane, CEO of our impact investing arm, the Soros Economic Development Fund, in Foreign Affairs.

“The Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle the institutions that discover and disseminate knowledge are antithetical to a thriving business environment and warrant a more vigorous defense from corporate leaders,” argues Georgia Levenson Keohane.
https://fam.ag/4wz8yS0

05/20/2026

Every American should be able to live, work, and care for their families—yet costs are soaring, freedoms are under attack, and too many people are struggling to make ends meet.

Laleh Ispahani shares why we’re doubling down on our work in the U.S. with a $300 million investment that will expand rights, foster economic dignity, and rebuild our democracy.

This builds on our decades-long work in the U.S. and around the world.

Learn more through the link in comments.