2018

1 month ago

Our OSF-SA 2018 Annual Report is now available, also commemorating 25 years of grant making in South Africa. #OpenSocietySA25 ... See MoreSee Less

Annual Reports

Latest Annual Reports OSF-SA 2018 Annual Report "The year 2018 was a complex one politically, with regular and persistent threats to free media, incoherent government policies and decisions, allegations of state capture being brought into the open, and a lack of leadership in government and the ruli...

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2 months ago

In 2018, Open Society Foundation for South Africa issued grants to a range of partners to initiate novel interventions with the goal to ensure voters are informed and empowered when casting their vote on May 8th 2019. Visit our #SAElections2019 website below for more information on what our grantees and fellows are doing to educate voters. ... See MoreSee Less

#SAElections2019

In 2018, the Open Society Foundation for South Africa issued grants to a range of partners to initiate novel interventions that will ensure voters are informed and empowered

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University of Kwazulu-Natal: Maurice Webb Race Relations Unit

2 months ago

The University of KwaZulu-Natal have established the “Election Watch Desk” in order to provide a platform that generates and distributes content on issues affecting elections for multiple audiences, and coordinates civil society activity in the run up to the #SAElections2019. ... See MoreSee Less

The Maurice Webb Race Relations Unit is a research institute specialising in socio-economic and socio-political, demographic research, monitoring and evaluation studies, impact assessment research and health research. The Unit has been in existence since 1985. @WatchZA2019 mauricewebb.ukzn.ac.za #El...

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OpenUp and Social Surveys Africa

2 months ago

OpenUpSA and Social Surveys Africa are piloting an innovative and interactive model of generating online polling data, and feeding the results back into media to stimulate greater youth engagement and public participation in the #SAElections2019. ... See MoreSee Less

OPENUP is in NPO that builds tools, opens up data and provides training that supports active citizenry and helps communities and government to work together. @OpenUpSA openup.org.za SOCIAL SURVEYS INSTITUTE is an NPO that provides communities with easily accessible data through processes that act

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2 months ago

My Vote Counts works to improve the accountability, transparency and inclusiveness around #SAElections2019. This includes enhancing awareness of critical subjects that the electorate should have access to when deciding who to vote for. ... See MoreSee Less

My Vote Counts

My Vote Counts (MVC) works to improve the accountability, transparency and inclusiveness of elections and politics in the Republic of South Africa. MVC works to ensure that the political and electoral systems are open, fair and accountable to the public and that they remain relevant in the changing....

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KwaZulu-Natal Council of Churches

2 months ago

The KwaZulu-Natal Council of Churches, uses the church’s unique structure and presence in communities to encourage engagement in issues of governance, democracy and human rights. Their latest project seeks to help eligible voters in the rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal to understand their role in the deepening of democracy in South Africa through their participation in the #SAElections2019. ... See MoreSee Less

The KZNCC is a provincial fellowship of churches and church-based organisations, established in 1996 as part of the South African Council og Churches. KZNCC uses the Church’s unique structure and presence communities to encourage engagement in issues of governance, democracy and human rights. kznc...

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2 months ago

Grassroot enables communities in South Africa to give effect to participatory democracy, by building and deploying simple technology and connecting it to ongoing field work. For the #SAElections2019, they have connected national media to on the ground reality and done field work to promote voter education. ... See MoreSee Less

GrassRoot

Grassroot enables communities in South Africa to give effect to participatory democracy by building and deploying simple technology and connecting it to ongoing field work. @grassrootza www.grassroot.org.za Ground-up Manifestos ABOUT THE PROJECT Grassroot will: Pilot a new approach for connecting na...

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Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa

2 months ago

Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa- Zimbabwe has implemented several projects supporting and evaluating the #SAElections2019. They have also planned a post-election review to bring together all the key electoral stakeholders, and evaluate the conduct and issues that emerged from the 2019 elections through critical reflection and review. ... See MoreSee Less

EISA strives for excellence in the promotion of credible elections, citizen participation, and strong political institutions for sustainable democracy in Africa. www.eisa.org.za Election Analysis Room ABOUT THE PROJECT EISA is implementing several projects supporting and evaluating the 2019 South Af...

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Dullah Omar Institute: Women and Democracy Initiative

2 months ago

The Women and Democracy Initiative at the Dullah Omar Institute, takes an intersectional feminist approach to strengthening deliberative democracy in South Africa. This election period, they worked towards shifting political focus on realising women and gender rights through infusing systematic feminist analysis and strategy into questions of governance and leadership during the #SAElections2019. ... See MoreSee Less

The Women and Democracy Initiative takes an intersectional feminist approach to strengthening deliberative democracy in South Africa. The WDI focusses on the realisation of the range of gender and women’s rights, including citizenship and participation rights. dullahomarinstitute.org.za/women-and-...

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2 months ago

The Citizen Justice Network has partnered with a number of organisations around the country to help produce quality election coverage for community radio stations. Their main objective is to train journalists from Kwazulu-Natal to help them produce independent #SAElections2019 content. ... See MoreSee Less

Citizen Justice Network

CJN trains community paralegals to be radio journalists in South Africa and Kenya. @CitizenJusticeN citizenjusticenetwork.org Election Reporting Project ABOUT THE PROJECT Citizen Justice Network (CJN) works with community radio stations all around the country. Community radio speaks particularly to....

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Blackstripe Media Foundation

2 months ago

The Big Debate South Africa is a popular South African television debate series that focuses on unpacking key topics such as land, election campaigns, energy governance, corruption, gender based violence and other pertinent issues, in order to educate the public in the lead up to the #SAElections2019. ... See MoreSee Less

The Big Debate is one of South Africa’s most popular current affairs talk shows with a large audience reach and presence on social media and radio. @BigDebateSA bigdebate.live/watch The Big Debate ABOUT THE PROJECT The Big Debate South Africa, produced by the Blackstripe

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2 months ago

In the six months leading up to the #SAElections2019, Africa Check has worked towards providing voters with reliable non-partisan information on key campaign issues by tackling misinformation circulating in traditional and social media, and providing voters with reliable information on key campaign issues. ... See MoreSee Less

Africa Check

Africa Check is the continent’s first non-partisan fact-checking organisation, set up to promote honesty in public debate and the media across the continent. Its main office is in South Africa. Africa Check exists to promote accuracy and honesty in public debate and the media in Africa and to enab...

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South African National Editors’ Forum

2 months ago

SAEditorsForum - SANEF promotes excellence in journalism through fighting for media freedom, writing policy submissions, research, education and training programmes. They have designed an #SAElections2019 portal that can be accessed from the SANEF website, which includes election materials specifically designed for South African journalists. ... See MoreSee Less

The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is a non-profit organisation whose members are editors, senior journalists and journalism trainers from all areas of the South African media. SANEF are committed to championing South Africa’s hard-won freedom of expression and promoting quality, ...

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Children’s Radio Foundation and Wits Radio Academy

2 months ago

Radio remains an important medium for sharing information and serving disadvantaged, rural and marginalised communities. Children's Radio Foundation and Wits Radio Academy, in partnership with MDDA - Media Development & Diversity Agency, have trained 121 station managers and community media journalists from 69 community radio stations from across South Africa. #SAElections2019 ... See MoreSee Less

The Children’s Radio Foundation uses radio to create opportunities for youth dialogue, leadership and active citizenship through training mentorship and broadcast opportunities. Utilizing the platform of community radio stations allows young reporters to amplify youth experiences and opinions on t...

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2 months ago

The Media Matters, in partnership with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), has launched an online reporting platform for citizens to report cases of alleged digital disinformation. #SAElections2019 ... See MoreSee Less

Media Monitoring Africa

Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) was established in 1993 in Johannesburg, South Africa and, since then, has evolved from a pure monitoring-based project to an innovative organisation which implements successful media strategies for change. MMA acts as a watchdog, taking on a role to promote ethical and...

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2 months ago

We’re proud to announce the launch of our #SAElections2019 portal. It features the important work OSF-SA grantees and the OSF Democracy Fellows are doing in the lead-up to the 2019 elections. Our partners have set up a range of projects for voters to access the information they need to make an informed decision come Election Day on the 8th of May.

Partners featured include Africa Check, Big Debate South Africa, Children's Radio Foundation, The Citizen Justice Network, Dullah Omar Institute, Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa - EISA, Grassroot, KwaZulu-Natal Council of Churches, Media Matters, My Vote Counts, OpenUpSA, Social Surveys Africa, SAEditorsForum - SANEF, Wits Radio Academy and University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Thanks to our regional partners Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa (OSIEA), Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa and the Open Society Foundations for their continued support. ... See MoreSee Less

#SAElections2019

In 2018, Open Society Foundation for South Africa issued grants to a range of partners to initiate novel interventions that will ensure voters are informed and empowered

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George Soros and the Open Society Foundations in South Africa

2 months ago

Today we celebrate #FreedomDay. In the years leading up to the 1994 democratic elections, Open Society Foundations founder, George Soros, supported several organisations and individuals to advance the goals of a democratic South Africa. Through our funding, OSF-SA continues to empower a new generation of change-makers to ensure the society that we live in is truly democratic, just and fair. ... See MoreSee Less

In 2018, as part of our 25 year celebrations, we honour George Soros and his remarkable contributions to South Africa and to building open societies around t...

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2 months ago

Our EOI 2019-2020 Open Call is now closed for entries.

Special thanks to all applicants.

Please check our website funding page for timelines. ... See MoreSee Less

Funding

Funding OSF-SA has adjusted its grant cycles. In 2019 OSF-SA will have one open call for Expressions of Interest, that will be open to any eligible organisation OR any organisation that has received funding for 1 year or less. This process will open in mid-February 2019. If

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Open Society Foundation for South Africa Commemorative Scholarship and Fellowship Awards 2018

3 months ago

This #HumanRightsDay, take a look at the social justice thought leaders who are trailblazers, and future leaders, supported by the Open Society Foundation for South Africa. ... See MoreSee Less

In 1979 George Soros, Chairperson and founder of the Open Society Foundations, provided scholarships to black South African students to study at the Universi...

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Growth and Innovation of Social Audits in South Africa

3 months ago

For an amazing update on how social audits have grown in size in Ekurhuleni, been implemented in Johannesburg and the Eastern Cape, and how they’ve been applied to infrastructure and mining, watch the latest social audit video by the Social Audit Network below. The Social Audit Network is one of the Open Society Foundation for South Africa’s grantees working to empower communities through the social audit methodology. ... See MoreSee Less

The story of how social audits have spread and innovated in South Africa. The video tells the story of how social audits have sperad to more cities, how they...

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3 months ago

We are aware of a hoax email informing individuals that they have been awarded a grant from Open Society Foundation for South Africa. We only award grants to organisations who have been through our application process. Please see our Funding section for more information. ... See MoreSee Less

Funding

Funding OSF-SA has adjusted its grant cycles. In 2019 OSF-SA will have one open call for Expressions of Interest, that will be open to any eligible organisation OR any organisation that has received funding for 1 year or less. This process will open in mid-February 2019. If

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Open Society for South Africa Grantees: Voices From the Field

4 months ago

International Women's Day – Today we salute the courage of women and girls in our country and the many new women leaders of colour in civil society that we fund. #‎IWD2019

South African women and girls face extremely high rates of domestic violence, rape and other forms of abuse. While their rights are fully protected by South Africa’s progressive Constitution, many young women and girls continue to face extremely high levels of violence. International Women’s Rights Day signals a global commitment to women’s rights and presents an opportunity for South Africa’s vigorous and autonomous civil society to mobilise around concerted efforts towards preventing the high and unacceptable levels of violence against women and children.

But today, we also have something to be proud of, in civil society, we are entering an era of greater women leadership. Listen to our grantees who lead some of SA’s foremost organisations and NGOs on our ‘Voices from the Field’ documentary. ... See MoreSee Less

A short film as tribute to the work of some OSF-SA grantees in celebration of turning 25.

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OSF-SA Special Call for Proposals: "A comparative analysis of Anglo Gold Ashanti’s human rights record in Southern Africa, West Africa and East Africa"

4 months ago

A final reminder that proposal submissions for our 24-month funded study close 28 February 2019.

The project’s aim is to investigate and document AngloGold Ashanti’s human rights record on the African continent, with a view to equip civil society for advocacy interventions and to demand cross-border accountability for any violations at regional and continental levels.

Interested parties are welcome to submit their proposals to our Research & Advocacy Unit via our website. Kindly note that the deadline for submitting proposals is 28 February 2019.

Submit your NGO’s proposal to our Research & Advocacy Unit via our website. ... See MoreSee Less

Project Objective Investigating and documenting the human rights record of Anglo Gold Ashanti in Southern Africa, West Africa and East Africa with a view to understand entry points for civil society to initiate advocacy interventions and demand cross-border accountability for any violations at regio...

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4 months ago

OSF-SA's Expression of Interest (EoI) online submission for 2019 – 2020 is now open.

Before applying, please take some time to familiarize yourself with our strategic grant-making focus areas, selection criteria, grant cycles and grant-making process on our website.

The closing date is 10 April 2019. Complete the online submission at the link below.

Organisations that may be requested to submit an application following the EoI will be notified by June 2019. ... See MoreSee Less

Funding

Funding OSF-SA has adjusted its grant cycles. In 2019 OSF-SA will have one open call for Expressions of Interest, that will be open to any eligible organisation OR any organisation that has received funding for 1 year or less. This process will open in mid-February 2019. If

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OSF-SA Special Call for Proposals: "A comparative analysis of Anglo Gold Ashanti’s human rights record in Southern Africa, West Africa and East Africa"

4 months ago

Proposal submissions close on 28 February 2019 for our 24-month funded study titled: “A comparative analysis of Anglo Gold Ashanti’s human rights record in Southern Africa, West Africa and East Africa”. The primary project partner must be an NGO registered in South Africa, supported by a research team in each of the identified regions. Interested NGOs can submit their proposals to our Research & Advocacy Unit via our website.

For more project information, or to submit, visit our website. ... See MoreSee Less

Project Objective Investigating and documenting the human rights record of Anglo Gold Ashanti in Southern Africa, West Africa and East Africa with a view to understand entry points for civil society to initiate advocacy interventions and demand cross-border accountability for any violations at regio...