Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation–Azerbaijan

In its efforts to promote open society in Azerbaijan, the Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation–Azerbaijan (OSIAF-Azerbaijan) has focused primarily on programs in three major areas: communication, education, and natural resource transparency.

With Azerbaijan serving as the point of origin for the massive Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the issues around the use of resource revenues have become ever more pressing—and the need for good governance and accountability all the more urgent. Since before the pipeline’s launch in 2005, the foundation has been at the forefront of efforts to advocate for the people directly affected by Azerbaijan’s extractive industries. Its work has resulted in concrete results, such as persuading an oil consortium to repair roads damaged during the pipeline’s construction.

The foundation’s communication projects have increased access to information, enhanced media coverage of social issues, defended journalists’ rights, and initiated dialogue among the government, civil society groups, and international organizations. OSIAF-Azerbaijan’s education programs have focused on education reform, teacher training, debate, history textbook development, curriculum reform, Internet training, and increased public access to information technology.

To bolster political participation, the foundation is active in promoting free and fair elections in Azerbaijan—a country whose most recent elections have represented progress, but still fall short of international standards for fairness and competition. The foundation also works to advance prison reform and harm reduction programs.