Our History

On April 8, 1990, nearly a year and a half before independence, George Soros, together with the “Prosvita” Society, the Ukrainian Peace Council, and “Green World,” founded the International Renaissance Foundation (IRF). Ukraine was the only country in Soros’s network to receive the unique name “Renaissance.” Among those who conceived the idea were Bohdan Hawrylyshyn, Ivan Dziuba, Dmytro Pavlychko, Borys Oliynyk, and others. 

With independence, the Foundation’s mission and values to foster an Open Society in a free Ukraine were finally established

The first large-scale exchange program, “East-East: Partnership Without Borders,” between the countries of Central and Eastern Europe has been launched

Thousands of professors, researchers, and students received “Soros scholarships” to keep Ukrainian science afloat amid a lack of funding

Ukraine’s first center for contemporary art has opened. Since its inception, the Center has hosted exhibitions of works by Damien Hirst, Bill Viola, Joseph Beuys, Joseph Kosuth, Andy Warhol, and others

Support for existing media outlets and the founding of a News Agency

A translation project that, by ~2010, had published 600–800 key works in the humanities and social sciences

Following mass layoffs in the army social reintegration of discharged personnel, affecting tens of thousands of people

Active efforts to integrate the Crimean Tatar people into Ukrainian society

The creation of Ukraine’s first major book festival, which would later become the Lviv Book Forum

When the government lacked the funds to take over the station from the British, the Foundation provided the necessary funds, and that is how Ukraine acquired the “Akademik Vernadsky” as its own property

Protecting women’s rights and expanding their participation in decision-making

Thousands of grants for clubs, choirs, and writers; among the grant recipients is “Okean Elzy,” which purchased its first instruments with funds from the Foundation

Connecting local governments and universities; free internet centers in libraries

In the parliamentary elections a tool that later became a safeguard against fraud

Humanizing prisons in accordance with human rights and international standards

For the first time in Ukraine, programs have been launched to minimize the negative social and medical consequences of psychoactive substance use or risky behavior

Advocating for dignified treatment of all people, including those who are seriously ill and will soon die

Legal clinics, community centers, and the Institute of Paralegals: the foundations of the future state system of free legal aid

The country’s first independent talk radio station

The sole Ukrainian union of media professionals, a member of the International Federation of Journalists

The first documentary film festival launched at the initiative of the Foundation

Observers collected evidence of fraud that led to the annulment of the second round of the presidential election

Access to free legal assistance for the Roma population

The initiative, which began as the Foundation’s own project, dismantled corruption schemes in university admissions

From journalistic investigations to policy development; with the Foundation’s involvement, laws on public procurement and corruption prevention were later drafted

“Transparent Office” in Vinnytsia, which later became the standard for the entire country

Classification designations have been lifted for the first time from approximately 1,500 government resolutions and orders

Exposure of the authorities’ illegal activities

With the active support of the Foundation, which continues to be a driving force behind its development

Countering attempts to exert control over the media landscape

The Book Arsenal is being held in Kyiv for the first time; since then, it has become Ukraine’s largest book event

For the first time, citizens can freely access public information

Thanks to this law, all Ukrainians, regardless of their income, can receive the legal aid they need

The first center of its kind in Ukraine

Assistance for Euromaidan-SOS and funds for the medical treatment and rehabilitation of 300 injured activists

Laws on public procurement, corruption prevention, ultimate beneficiaries, and others, which were developed with the support of the Fund

The Foundation was one of the founders of the UCMC

Legal and psychological support for military personnel and internally displaced persons

The Law “On Transparency in the Use of Public Funds” has made all government expenditures starting at 1 hryvnia publicly available

The Central European University (CEU) Award for the Advancement of Open Society Ideas

Strengthening the role of think tanks in decision-making in partnership with Sweden

Development of a concept for primary care reform and launch of the Center for Public Health

The result of more than a decade of advocacy by the Foundation

Government procurement of medicines has become open and accountable

Assistance in developing the concept and organizing teacher retraining

Protecting the Rights of Detainees in Kropyvnytskyi, Dnipro, Sarny, and Kherson

Updating the logo and visual identity as the first step toward modernizing communications

An institutional support program for environmental organizations was launched in partnership with Sweden

We launched a large-scale support program and backed more than 300 projects ranging from humanitarian aid to human rights advocacy and innovation

Supported the creation of the first coalition of veterans’ spaces

811 projects and a record budget of $18.7 million for volunteers, military personnel, internally displaced persons, the media, and hundreds of civil society organizations

Supporting the documentation of crimes for future justice

Support for international advocacy; with the Foundation’s assistance, offices of the Ukrainian Institute have opened in Paris and Berlin

Promoting a system where military service is a matter of honor, not a lottery

Supporting communities’ capacity to collaboratively plan for development and safety

Recovery efforts are about people and trust, not just infrastructure

Hundreds of grants to strengthen organizations in the South and East