Open Society Foundations pledges €100mn for Roma communities
Melanie May | 6 September 2023 | News
The Open Society Foundations is pledging €100 million (over £85mn) to the empowerment and development of Europe’s Roma communities, marking a new stage in the organisation’s three decades of support for the Roma people.
The funding commitment runs until 2030, and will be delivered through a new independent foundation, headquartered in Brussels. The organisation says it will be the first institution of its scale and scope to be managed by Roma leaders when it launches next year.
In addition to becoming the new channel for Open Society support for Roma causes, the new foundation will also look to develop additional funding sources to advance its mission.
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Alexander Soros, Chair of the Open Society Foundations, said:
“With a new generation of exceptional Roma leaders determining strategy and funding priorities, I am confident the new foundation will be a dynamic force–dedicated to realizing the full potential of the Roma people, and overcoming the deep-rooted barriers they face. We will do everything we can to support the foundation and its leadership in a mission that will benefit not only the Roma, but Europe as whole.”
The Open Society Foundations has been a private supporter of Europe’s Roma since the early 1990s, when Open Society’s founder, George Soros, first showed support for the cause.
The new Roma Foundation for Europe will work with Roma groups in the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe, Spain, Italy, and Germany. It will be headed by Zeljko Jovanovic, who has overseen Open Society’s Roma Initiatives Office since 2010.
The foundation will inherit and develop Open Society’s founding partnerships with four leading Roma-led initiatives: the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture; the Roma Entrepreneurship Development Initiative, Roma for Democracy; and the Roma Education Fund. It will also continue Open Society’s work with a range of national Roma movements, including Aresel in Romania, Opre Roma in Serbia, Kethane in Italy, Roma Standing Conference in Bulgaria, and Avaja in North Macedonia, among others.
Jovanovic, who will be Executive Director of the new foundation, said:
“We will work with all those who can advance our mission—to combine the electoral and economic potential of the biggest minority in Europe with the voice of its most credible advocates, supportive allies, and influential friends. Our goal will be to build a foundation that not only delivers positive change for Roma, but that also contributes to a European future grounded in justice and fairness.”
Open Society’s support for the Roma so far has included:
- The European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture, launched in 2017, and dedicated to promoting Roma pride and dispelling anti-Roma prejudice through the arts.
- The Roma Entrepreneurship Development Initiative, which since 2016 has sought to empower Roma communities economically by supporting Roma-owned small businesses.
- Roma for Democracy, a program aimed at promoting Roma participation in elections and democratic representation.
- The Roma Education Fund, established in 2005 to provide scholarships and grants promoting high-quality, inclusive education for Roma students in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe and Turkey.
The Open Society Foundations has an annual budget of over $1 billion (€917 million).
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.