About OSISA

About OSISA

The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) is a leading Johannesburg-based foundation established in 1997, working in ten Southern Africa countries: Angola, Botswana, DRC, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. OSISA works differently in each of these nine countries, according to local conditions. There are specialised programme managers in Angola, Zimbabwe and Swaziland – these being the three countries in which significant structural governance questions still obtain.

OSISA Board

Mr Musa Hlope, Chairperson (Swaziland) is a founding member of the Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations and currently serves as its coordinator. He is a committed social rights activist engaged in issues of promoting democracy and human rights.

Ms Elinor Sisulu, Deputy Chairperson (South Africa) is a writer, human rights activist and political analyst. She combines training in history, English literature, development studies and feminist theory. She has published several books, including The Day Gogo Went to Vote (an award winning children's book about the first democratic elections in South Africa), Women in Zimbabwe, and Walter and Albertina Sisulu: In Our Lifetime. Since 2003, Elinor has been advising on projects on democracy and human rights in Zimbabwe. She is currently the Media and Advocacy Manager of the Crisis Coalition of Zimbabwe’s Johannesburg office, which she was instrumental in establishing in 2004.

Network programmes

OSI network programmes are specialist OSI entities, focussing on particular themes. OSISA's work is particularly enriched through its partnership with the following network programmes:

OSISA HIV and AIDS workplace policy

Pamphlet popularising the OSISA HIV and AIDS workplace policyOSISA's HIV and AIDS workplace policy has been written to ensure a respectful and supportive environment in which all staff can access information and services related to HIV and AIDS. The policy exists to:

  • minimise the possibility of HIV infection for OSISA staff, their partners and dependents;
  • ensure a supportive work environment for staff infected and affected by HIV and AIDS;
  • create an environment that respects the rights of employees and the employer, and sets out the relevant conditions of service as they might relate to an employee with HIV and AIDS;
  • manage and mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS on the work of OSISA;
  • eliminate stigma and discrimination in the workplace on the basis of real or perceived HIV status, or vulnerability to HIV infection;
  • ensure that employees openly living with HIV and AIDS are treated in a non-discriminatory manner that avoids moral judgement and instead are supported and given compassion and respect.

The policy will be made available here for other organisations to adapt and use.

E-mail addresses

Please send funding proposals to grantproposals@osisa.org, and reports on existing OSISA projects to grantreports@osisa.org.

For general communication, e-mail info@osisa.org.

For matters relating to the OSISA Website, e-mail web@osisa.org.

OSISA Luanda office

E-mail: info@angola.osisa.org
Telephone: 22 325 989/ 22 326 916
Fax: 22 325 015

International code: +244-2 (+244 for Angola, 2 for Luanda)

Saurnino de Sousa Street
Vila Alice
Luanda
Angola

George Soros

George Soros was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1930. He emigrated to England in 1947, where he graduated from London School of Economics (LSE). In 1956, he emigrated to the United States, where he began to accumulate a large fortune through his investment activities.

While a student at LSE, Mr Soros became familiar with the work of philosopher Karl Popper, who had a profound influence on his thinking and later on his philanthropic activities.

Mr Soros believes that an open society is a society based on the recognition that nobody has a monopoly on the truth, that different people have different views and interests, and that there is a need for institutions to protect the rights of people to allow them to live together in peace. Broadly, an open society is characterised by a reliance on the rule of law, the existence of a democratically elected government, a diverse and vigorous civil society, and respect for minorities and minority opinions.

OSISA Johannesburg office

Telephone: (011) 403-3414/ 5/ 6
Fax: (011) 403-2708
International code: +27-11 (+27 for South Africa, 11 for Johannesburg)

12th Floor Braamfontein Centre,
23 Jorissen Street (corner Bertha)
Braamfontein 2017

PO Box 678
Wits 2050
Johannesburg


Directions to the OSISA Johannesburg office

Terms and Conditions

[based on the Terms and Conditions of the Open Society Initiative (OSI), New York, available at http://www.soros.org/about_site/terms ].

The following Terms and Conditions govern the use of the Website of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA), hereinafter referred to as “OSISA's Website" or "this site").

By visiting OSISA's Website, you specifically and automatically agree to abide by these Terms and Conditions. OSISA reserves the right to modify these Terms and Conditions at any time. Your continued use of this site following the posting of any changes to these Terms and Conditions shall mean that you have accepted the changes in their entirety.

OSISA Privacy Policy

[based on the Privacy Policy of the Open Society Initiative (OSI), New York, available at http://www.soros.org/about_site/privacy ].

The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) is committed to safeguarding your privacy. OSISA, like all OSI-affiliated Websites, adheres to a rigid policy for ensuring the privacy of any personally identifiable information (name, mailing address, email address, occupation, etc.) that may be collected though Websites.

Collecting Information

OSISA gathers email addresses from users who (1) contact OSISA for general information purposes or (2) subscribe to electronic mailing lists for newsletters and other publications. We may also collect other personal information, including mailing address and occupation, from users who choose to send such information by email.