Some reasons for hope and optimism in the year ahead.

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A woman feeding a baby by candlelight
A mother feeds her child by candlelight during a power outage in Uzhhorod, Ukraine, on November 28, 2022. © Serhii Hudak/Ukrinform/Getty
Dear Friends of Open Society:

I write you at the close of one of the more tumultuous years in memory. Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine has posed the greatest test to Western democracies since World War II. The ripple effects of that conflict—galloping inflation, spikes in food and fuel prices, forced migration—combined with existing debt and climate crises, the ongoing ravages of a global pandemic, and a rise in authoritarianism has sent shock waves around the world. These are some of the greatest challenges to open society values of our time.

And yet, there are reasons for hope. When I look back on 2022, I am struck by the number of notable achievements from around the world, despite the daunting headwinds. I am proud to share with you, the partners, grantees, and supporters of the Open Society Foundations, the role our staff has played in making progress on just a few of these fronts.

People wearing masks gathered outside
People gather during the trial of former Syrian colonel Anwar Raslan in Koblenz, Germany, on January 12, 2022. © Alessio Mamo/Redux
We started the year with a landmark verdict in the first torture trial against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime ([link removed]) , with a life sentence for crimes against humanity handed down to a former intelligence officer who oversaw one of Syria’s most notorious prisons used to brutally suppress mass protests. The Open Society Justice Initiative represented five survivors of torture before the court, whose decision sent a clear signal that countries determined to prosecute grave crimes can bring justice to those who commit such appalling atrocities.
February brought Russia’s brutal invasion—thrusting into the limelight the extraordinary efforts of our colleagues in the International Renaissance Foundation and their grantees and partners, who helped build the truly remarkable civil society sector that has shown the world the meaning of courage and resilience. Open Society continues to support this critical work through the Ukraine Democracy Fund ([link removed]) , as Ukranians push for accountability and healing amid the hard work of rebuilding what Russia has torn asunder. As President Zelensky’s end-of-year visit to Washington reminds us, it is crucial for the U.S., Europe, and allies the world over to remain steadfast in support of Ukraine’s valiant fight to preserve democracy.
People smiling and hugging
People celebrate after a court decision decriminalizing abortion in Bogota, Colombia, on February 21, 2022. © Guillermo Legaria Schweizer/Getty
In Colombia, the Constitutional Court decriminalized abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, a huge victory for the global reproductive rights movement. Building on years of organizing by women’s rights groups, the petition was brought by Causa Justa, a coalition of feminist and human rights organizations made up of several Open Society grantees. The year would see further triumphs against authoritarianism at the ballot box in Chile, Colombia, and Brazil.
A family by a closet in a bedroom
An Afghan refugee family at home in Sacramento, California, on August 17, 2022. © Marcus Yam/LATimes/Getty
With Afghanistan still reeling from the return of Taliban rule, we allocated $15.4 million from our Afghanistan Emergency Humanitarian Fund ([link removed]) to help Afghan refugees seeking to start a new chapter of their lives, and piloted a digital payment platform to deliver direct humanitarian aid to Afghan women. We also helped launch community-based refugee sponsorship programs in more than a dozen countries through the Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative (GRSI). This has helped demonstrate that while governments have become ever more inhospitable to refugees, families and communities remain willing to open their hearts and homes.

This spring, the European Union announced the Digital Services Act (DSA), a landmark set of rules aimed at holding Big Tech accountable for amplifying disinformation, hate speech, and much more. Open Society’s sanctions campaign made great strides toward establishing an anticorruption sanctions regime ([link removed]) in the EU, and in targeting the Iranian and Russian regimes as well.

People standing in line with "I Will Vote" signs
Voters stand in line to cast their ballots during in Columbus, Georgia, on November 26, 2022. © Cheney Orr/Reuters/Redux
In the United States, efforts to protect voting rights and combat voter suppression helped ensure a midterm election largely free of predicted sabotage and disruptions. I spent Election Day with Open Society–U.S. Executive Director Tom Perriello and colleagues in Georgia, where interference with free and fair balloting was anticipated, and I met a number of our grantees. It was exciting and inspiring to see the work they were doing under very difficult circumstances to preserve election integrity there. Also in the U.S., we supported the establishment of OnPoint, the first authorized supervised overdose prevention center in the country.
A person at an overdose prevention center
A worker holds medical supplies at the OnPoint overdose prevention center in New York City, on December 2, 2022. © Kena Betancur/Factstory for the Open Society Foundations
And while progress was made in reducing the toll taken by COVID-19, thousands of people still die from the virus every week—particularly in the Global South, which is still struggling to gain access to vaccines. With our support, scientists in South Africa and Senegal are working to produce vaccines for Africa ([link removed]) —including the continent’s first mRNA shots—with implications for efforts to manage other epidemics in the region, now and in the future.
A person wearing protective equipment in a lab
A technician checks equipment in a laboratory in Cape Town, South Africa, on September 12, 2022. © Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg/Getty
These victories were built using the full range of Open Society’s strategic tools at the local level, while leveraging our impact at the global level as well. We made particular headway in our advocacy in multilateral spaces, helping to build a clear narrative to frame discussion at the UN General Assembly through our report Fault Lines: Global Perspectives on a World in Crisis ([link removed]) , based on polling in 22 countries. And we helped spur developed nations at last month’s 27th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) to create a new fund to address the losses and damages wrought by climate change, particularly in vulnerable nations.

As we look forward, the Open Society Foundations will focus ever more closely on maximizing our impact and carefully assessing our progress. We also need to remain open-minded and engaged in the world, encouraging and relishing the competition of ideas. That, after all, as our founder and chair George Soros often reminds us, is our core mission. We’ll make our New Year’s resolution a commitment to permanent curiosity about the world and continued impatience about changing it for the better. I am excited about the even greater heights we will scale in the years to come.

May you and yours enjoy an invigorating holiday season and start to 2023. Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership.

Mark Malloch‐Brown
President, Open Society Foundations

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