The Open Society Institute Middle East & North Africa Initiative operates primarily as a grantmaking program supporting a wide range of initiatives that promote open society issues across the region. The areas of focus are rights and governance, media and information, youth and knowledge, and arts and culture.

The Middle East & North Africa Initiative offers financial and technical support for individuals and organizations working to improve government accountability, transparency, rule of law, human rights, as well as those working to empower women and foster independent media and the open exchange of information. Headquartered at the Open Society Institute's Arab Regional Office in Amman, Jordan, the initiative also has staff in New York and Washington, D.C. It works in close collaboration with various Soros foundation network programs, and currently supports projects and organizations across the Middle East including in Egypt, Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories, Jordan, and Lebanon.

OSI’s Middle East and North Africa Initiative in 2007 continued promoting human rights, women’s empowerment, education, and arts and culture in the Arab region.

Read more about MENA 2007 activities.