Offices
Amman, Jordan
The Amman office supports a diverse group of local civil society organizations, research centers, universities, and media organizations across Egypt, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia, and Syria.
By the Numbers
Expenditures by Year
Open Society–Middle East and North Africa works to defend human rights and promote democratic governance across the region.
![An artist presents a sound-based performance at the non-profit arts space Ashkal Alwan in Beirut, Lebanon, on July 14, 2022. © Photo courtesy Ashkal Alwan/Lara Saab Person playing large drum in a room of people](https://opensocietyfoundations.imgix.net/uploads/3b842f45-72c2-4e05-8648-d02876967be5/20230307-ashkal-alwan-beirut-performance-1-3000.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C3000%2C2000&w=760)
Open Society’s work has always been grounded in the free exchange of ideas—either in the world of policy, or in the world of art and culture. Across the Middle East and North Africa region, we support the development of institutions and think tanks that can incubate ideas for positive change. We also support independent cultural institutions that use art to ask questions and to challenge boundaries that may be otherwise tightly controlled.
We are among the numerous international supporters of human rights and law groups across the region that defend freedom of expression, challenge discrimination, and call for accountability for government abuses. Our efforts to push back against authoritarianism include supporting groups abroad that speak out for freedoms denied them in their home countries.
![Young debaters pose for a selfie on the set of a TV talk show produced by the Munathara Initiative in Tuni, Tunisia. Photo courtesy the Munathara Initiative A group of people on stage](https://opensocietyfoundations.imgix.net/uploads/42c316d7-9bad-4b9f-b577-4c5747a21133/20230307-munathara-youth-debate-2e5a3035-1500.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C1500%2C1000&w=760)
Online civic space remains constrained across much of the region by government censorship and surveillance, while flows of sometimes toxic disinformation are largely unchecked. In addition, there is a deficit of regional capacity to address pressing issues that will shape the region’s digital future. We are working to build regional capacity to strengthen the ability of independent groups to advocate for an internet protected from the excesses of state and corporate power.
![Lawyers give a press statement following the guilty verdict in the trial of a former Syrian intelligence officer for crimes against humanity in Koblenz, Germany, on January 13, 2022. © Bernd Lauter/AFP/Getty A small group of people speaking at an outdoor press conference](https://opensocietyfoundations.imgix.net/uploads/c13f7539-7707-4583-9f43-6499dac8910a/20230307-lauter-germany-syrian-crimes-against-humanity-3000.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C3000%2C2000&w=760)
We have worked closely with the Open Society Justice Initiative to support regional and national groups pushing for accountability for atrocity crimes in the region, including those committed in Syria and Yemen, as well as the ongoing work by the International Criminal Court prosecutor on situations in Iraq/United Kingdom, Libya, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The Open Society Foundations gave our first grants in the Middle East to groups in Israel and Palestine in 2002, as George Soros expanded his philanthropic efforts into the region. In 2006, our first regional office opened in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
![Men from a stateless community, who are barred from legal employment, sit in a salon in Kuwait on November 2, 2012. © Greg Constantine for the Open Society Foundations Three men seated outside of building](https://opensocietyfoundations.imgix.net/uploads/082d5651-25af-451b-9b76-ac526339fca8/20230307-20121205-constantine-bidoon-statelessness-064-3000.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C3000%2C2000&w=760)
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Earthquake Aftermath
Syria’s Earthquake Horrors Have Underlined the Urgent Need for Sanctions Reform
![Volunteers help members of the White Helmets rescue someone who was trapped in a collapsed building after a massive earthquake in Idlib, Syria, on February 6, 2023. Photo credit: © Anas Alkharboutli/picture alliance/Getty A group of people carrying an injured person among rubble](https://opensocietyfoundations.imgix.net/uploads/49d2a26a-6b84-4021-acc0-2cd46228d4e1/20230221-alkharboutli-syria-earthquake-3000.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=200&q=80&rect=0%2C63%2C3000%2C1876)
Sanctions targeting the regime of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad are also hobbling efforts to deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid to people in Northern Syria.
Deadly Corruption
Justice for Victims of the Beirut Blast
![People remove debris from a blast-damaged house in Beirut, Lebanon, on August 7, 2020.
Photo credit: © Felipe Dana/AP People removing debris from a heavily damaged building and car](https://opensocietyfoundations.imgix.net/uploads/9c5e2db7-d839-439e-a283-600437999601/20220916-dana-lebanon-beirut-blast-volunteers-3000.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=200&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C3000%2C1875)
It has been two years since an apocalyptic explosion at Beirut’s port killed hundreds and wounded thousands. One lawyer’s quest for justice in a land where it is hard to find.
Documentary Films
Q&A: Harnessing the Power of Documentary Storytelling
![Orwa Nyrabia on stage at the IDFA awards in Amsterdam on November 25, 2021. Photo credit: © idfa/Coen Dijkstra Orwa Nyrabia and a woman standing on a stage](https://opensocietyfoundations.imgix.net/uploads/8e06e261-eab2-4462-9f52-c50be39eac53/20220214-dijkstra-idfa-orwa-nyrabia-4-3000.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=200&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C3000%2C1875)
Orwa Nyrabia, artistic director of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, talks to Open Society about his experiences in Syria as a child and during the war, and its impact on his worldview and creative path