The Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) is an organization in
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...
. OSIWA was established in 2000 as a part of the global network of
Soros Foundations. OSIWA claims to promote "open societies where democracy, good governance, the rule of law, basic freedoms and widespread civic participation prevail" and "the value of cooperation with similarly minded groups and governments". It is one of numerous
Open Society Foundations founded by business magnate and billionaire
George Soros
George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...
around the globe.
OSIWA covers 18 countries, which include the 15 members of the
Economic Community of West African States
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in ...
(ECOWAS), as well as Cameroon, Chad, and Mauritania. It also claims to support "civil society communities" and advocates to governments on issues of governance; law, justice and human rights; public health and development; information, communication technology, and media.
The current chair of the OSIWA board is
El Hadj Sy from
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
. Past Chairs include
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born Ellen Eugenia Johnson, 29 October 1938) is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa.
Sirleaf was born in Monro ...
, former President of Liberia and Abdul Tejan-Cole, Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission in Sierra Leone.
OSIWA has branches in ten countries,
with offices in major cities such as Dakar (Regional office), Abuja (Country Office), and Freetown (Mano River Office).
See also
*
Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) is a Southern African organization which "collaborates with other organizations on issues surrounding the rule of law, democracy building, human rights, economic development, education, the media, ...
References
External links
Open Society Initiative for West Africa"Open Society Initiative for West Africa" on the OSI site
Democracy activists
Political organizations based in Africa
George Soros
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