The Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) is an organization in
West Africa
West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
. OSIWA was established in 2000 as a part of the global network of
Soros Foundations
Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the st ...
. 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
Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the s ...
founded by business magnate and billionaire
George Soros
George Soros (born György Schwartz; August 12, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist. , he has a net worth of US$7.2 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundat ...
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 CEDEAO in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of twelve countries of West Africa. Collectively, the present and former members comprise an area ...
(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, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
. Past Chairs include
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Ellen Eugenia Johnson Sirleaf (born 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 Monrovia to a Gol ...
, former President of Liberia and Abdul Tejan-Cole, Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission in Sierra Leone, and Akwasi Aidoo, former Executive Director of TrustAfrica.
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
Political organizations based in Africa
George Soros
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