The Open Society Georgia Foundation is committed to programs that respond to political and economic change, and contribute to the long-term development of open society in Georgia. To this end, the foundation has cooperated with local and regional partners, focusing on governance, rule of law, women’s rights, education, public health, and, most recently, the human rights and development challenges raised by the recent conflict in South Ossetia.

Since the outbreak of fighting in 2008 in South Ossetia, a disputed region on the border of Russia, the foundation has been heavily focused on responding to the damage done to Georgia’s infrastructure, economy, and civil society. During the conflict, the foundation worked with civil society groups to provide humanitarian aid to displaced people. In its aftermath, the foundation has been a leader in addressing the postconflict needs of civilians, including psychological assistance, monitoring of international aid funds, and legal support to those whose human rights were violated during the fighting.

The foundation has also sustained efforts to build up Georgian civil society. It has been instrumental in promoting transparency in public finances, especially around revenues from the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline, securing progressive legal aid reform, and advancing harm reduction drug policies and a rights-based approach to health care.