Middle East and North Africa

Overview

Translating the idea of rights into the practice of rights will help people from all communities in the Middle East and North Africa access opportunity.

The Regional Context

Over the past decade, economies across the Arab region have experienced their strongest expansion in generations. With the rise of new wealth and new global ties comes a broad awareness of human rights concepts. Yet a closer look shows that the economic expansion has not improved the daily lives of most people in the region. Government services remain inadequate, and deep-seated discrimination based on gender, age, ethnicity or belief persists.

A lack of respect for human rights lies at the heart of the region's issues. While small, disparate social movements have emerged to address these challenges, the politics of exclusion threaten hard-won advances achieved by women and other marginalized groups. In response, we focus on helping to translate the idea of rights into the practice of rights.

Our Goal

The goal of our work is to empower the marginalized to achieve economic, social and cultural rights.

By supporting citizen groups and promoting increased government effectiveness, accountability and transparency, we believe that people in the region can overcome social, economic and cultural marginalization.

What We're Doing

The foundation's Cairo office concentrates primarily on Egypt, but also promotes advancement in other parts of the region along with regional networking.

Our work focuses on:

Funding efforts to strengthen the rule of law and human rights protection with a focus on key economic and social rights
Ensuring that the rights of women and other marginalized people are safeguarded
Advancing efforts to improve public health, including HIV/AIDS prevention and reproductive health of young people
Promoting cultural preservation and free expression through independent arts and culture initiatives
Supporting access to quality higher education opportunities, and promoting higher education reform
Advancing efforts to make government more transparent, effective and accountable
Building the capacity of key organizations and institutions
Facilitating networking and advancing research as the basis for informed debate and policymaking

In fiscal year 2009, the Cairo office made more than $15 million in grants.

Our grant making in the region is pursued through the following initiatives.

Issue	Initiative
Democratic and Accountable Government	Promoting Transparent, Effective And Accountable Government
Human Rights	Reducing HIV/AIDS Discrimination And Exclusion Advancing Economic and Social Rights
Educational Opportunity and Scholarship	Advancing Higher Education Access And Success
Freedom of Expression	Supporting Diverse Arts Spaces
Sexuality and Reproductive Health and Rights	Sexuality And Reproductive Health Education