An open society is a society based on the recognition that nobody has a monopoly on the truth, that different people have different views and interests, and that there is a need for institutions to protect the rights of all people to allow them to live together in peace. Broadly speaking, an open society is characterized by a reliance on the rule of law, the existence of a democratically elected government, a diverse and vigorous civil society, and respect for minorities and minority opinions.

 The Open Society Institute is a private operating and grantmaking foundation that develops and implements a range of programs in civil society, culture, education, media, public administration, public health, and human and women's rights, as well as social, legal and economic reform. The Open Society Institute is part of the Soros foundations network, an informal network of organizations established and supported by investor and philanthropist George Soros, and active in more than 50 countries worldwide.

 The East East Program of the Open Society Institute was created in 1991 and is implemented through and according to the strategies of the network of independent foundations of the Soros foundations network.

 The East East Program supports people and ideas to transcend national borders specifically to collaborate in creating and strengthening conditions of open society.  Initiatives supported in the East East Program involve two or more countries.

 The East East Program is a resource which responds to needs from people in society most intensively in contact with local conditions, and takes a long-term perspective in empowering people to work beyond borders toward common goals of open society.

 Civil society institutions and non-governmental organizations may use the resources of the program

 ·         to exchange experiences, best practices, lessons learned and models of development

·         to collaborate in finding innovative solutions to trans-national challenges

·         to analyze comparative trends in social, economic and political development

·         to identify alternative approaches in overcoming stereotypes, prejudice, isolation, exclusion

·         to strengthen coalitions/alliances in influencing public policies and public policy dialogue

·         to catalyze expertise, innovation and advocacy to affect positive change

 The East East Program addresses challenges facing contemporary societies globally, including but not limited to

 ·         empowerment, mobility and diversity of civil society

·         disadvantaged and marginalized sectors of society

·         multicultural acceptance, diversity and interaction

·         impact of economic and political change

·         information divide/lack of access to information

·         civic education, participation in and institutionalization of democratic processes

 Communication is the essence of the East East Program.  The program supports openness, dialogue and neutral space for diverse views.  Initiatives supported by the program seek to discover and inspire new visions, energy and creativity to strengthen conditions of open society.

 The East East Program supports 260 projects annually in Central and Eastern Europe , Central Asia and Mongolia .

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Application Guidelines                            

Projects supported in the East East Program may include, but are not limited to, seminars, workshops, roundtables and working group/site visits. 

Deadline

Proposals are evaluated at the local Open Society Institute foundation or representative office.  After this evaluation, proposals are submitted to the East East Program management team in the Open Society Institute-Budapest for review.  Proposals must be received by the program management six-eight weeks before a project is planned to begin.

Financial Support

The East East Program should not be the only source of support for a project. Sources of financial support and/or in-kind contributions are to be stated in the application as noted.   Unused East East Program money must be returned to the program.  

The East East Program does not support

- world congresses and/or conferences

- hard science or scientific conferences

- individual research projects

- arts events

- book translation or publishing

- infrastructure maintenance and/or development

- business, commercial and/or for-profit activities

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 East East Program

 Application Guidelines

Project Title

Applicant(s)   

Please provide this information in not more than two pages.

-          Name, address and contact details of applicant(s) and all partners

-          Mission statement of applicant(s) and partner(s)

-          Summary of previous activities of applicant(s) and partner(s) relevant to this proposal

-          Responsibilities of applicant(s) and partner(s) in implementing this initiative

When?

Please describe each phase of this initiative.
Please indicate for which phase(s) East East Program support is requested. 

Where?

If this initiative is to take place in more than one location, please describe. 

If there isn’t a specific geographical location of this initiative, please describe.

 Description

Please provide a complete description of this initiative as follows.

 (i) Summary of this initiative

Please provide a one-page summary of this initiative.  

(ii) Content of this initiative

Please answer each question in detail.

-          What is the context/background of this initiative?

-          What are the objectives of this initiative?

What specifically do you want to accomplish in this initiative? 

What change(s) will be brought about by this initiative?

-          What are the long-term goals of your work?

What and how will this initiative contribute to your long-term work?

-          Who is the target audience of this initiative?

Who are the beneficiaries of this initiative?

-          What is the follow up of this initiative?

-          How will you know if you’ve met the objectives of this initiative?

 What is/are the working language(s) of this initiative?
Will translation be provided?

Participation

You may suggest participants for this initiative.  Please be advised, however, East East Program support is not guaranteed for participants suggested by an applicant. 

Please provide complete information about suggested participants, including name and title, professional responsibilities and reasons suggested to participate in this initiative.

Budget

Please provide a line-item budget of this initiative in US dollars, an explanation of each line item and how these expenses are calculated.

Please provide complete information about other sources of financial support -- confirmed and/or for which you’ve applied. 

Please provide information about in-kind contributions, including the applicant’s contribution, to this initiative.

Note

Reasonable administrative expenses to implement this initiative may be requested in the proposed budget.

The East East Program does not support applicant’s salaries; purchase of equipment; receptions, parties, gala dinners and cultural/city tours. 

Additional Information

Please provide any additional information relevant to this application.  

Signature of Applicant

Date of Application