Fundacja im. Stefana Batorego

Annual Report 2002

About the Foundation

The Stefan Batory Foundation was registered by the District Court of Warsaw (Praga) on May 7^th 1988 as an independent, non-profit non-governmental organization. George Soros, an American financier and philanthropist, is the organization’s Founder and chief donor. The Stefan Batory Foundation’s mission is to support the development of an open, democratic society.

Since its inception, the Foundation has been playing a crucial role in political, economic, and social changes in Poland, while remaining fully independent and neutral in the country’s everchanging political environment. Initially, we focused on supporting system reforms and developing human resources capable of driving change in the country. We sponsored scholarship and internship programs used by hundreds of scholars, economists and bankers, local officials, doctors and teachers. The Foundation assisted in the task of introducing new programs and methods at universities and secondary schools. It was one of the few non-governmental local-level culture patrons, helping to stimulate and boost cultural life in the Polish province. The Foundation has been consistent in supporting the education and culture of ethnic minorities in Poland, and in actively promoting the rights of women, children, ethnic minorities, and the disabled. We were strongly committed to providing support to various civic initiatives at the local level. The thousands of grants we provided helped increase public participation in local communities, thus boosting the process of resolving many local problems and of setting up many efficient organizations, who acted as catalyst of change in their communities. Since the very beginning the Foundation participated in the work to support democratic movements throughout the region, becoming one of the key non-governmental organizations in Poland to focus on developing partnerships and friendly relations between the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS.

In 2002 as in the previous years, the majority of our programs involved grant distribution. Throughout 2002, we provided 808 grants to institutions and organizations, 81 individual and group travel grants for participants attending events and projects abroad, and 140 scholarships, totaling PLN 17 million. We also managed and operated several projects internally, organizing conferences, seminars, training sessions, study tours and public debates and producing publications; overall expenditure to the purpose totaled PLN 4 million.

Mid-2002, upon entering the fifteenth year of our activities, we shouldered the burden of redefining the Foundation’s priority tasks. This – on the one hand – involves new challenges faced by Poland on the eve of European Union accession, and – on the other – George Soros’ announcement of the planned reduction in accession country funding, the Batory Foundation included. In order to continue our work we had to introduce many changes involving the most painful one – 50% reduction of the Foundation’s staff – and modify the format of our former activity. In December 2002, we closed the following six programs: Cultural, Publishing, Youth, Children’s Support, Women’s, and Academic Scholarships. Furthermore, Polish program of the Commission on Alcohol and Drug Education was closed, its experience and achievements will continue as part of the Regional Alcohol and Drug Program targeting East European and Central Asian countries. In closing these programs, we made every effort to ensure for some of the work they were involved to be taken over by other organizations: our spin-offs, long-term grantees, or partners. The Foundation allocated nearly PLN 5 million to the purpose of the future operations of these programs. Thanks to these funds, multiplied by our partners or their donors, the following programs and projects will continue after 2002 outside the Batory Foundation:

Fund for Women – a program of grant support for women’s initiatives, co-funded by the Ford Foundation, and handed over to the National Information Center on Women’s Organizations and Initiatives in Poland OŚKa

Local Culture – program of supporting culture in rural areas and small towns, co-funded and managed by the Foundation for the Support of Rural Areas

Journals Showcase – a cultural magazine support program, handed over to the Foksal Gallery Foundation

Artists in Action – a program that promotes artistic activity as a way of helping young people to overcome social and cultural disorientation, co-funded by the European Foundation of Culture, and handed down to the Association of Theatre in Education Wybrzeżak

Big Brother, Big Sister – a support program for neglected children, handed over to the Big Brother, Big Sister Foundation Poland established by the Batory Foundation

Local History – a history competition for secondary school students managed by the Karta Centre Foundation

Eastern Scholarships – a scholarship program for Central and East European scientists, co-funded by the Foundation for Polish Science, and managed by the Józef Mianowski Fund of the Foundation for the Promotion of Science

Beginning with 2003 the Foundation’s work will focus on three major tasks:

Enhance the role and involvement of civil society. We are committed to assist the building of civil society in Poland and throughout the Region. We want a society in which citizens have a sense of shared responsibility for the democratic process and are not expecting all their issues to be tackled by the state but organize themselves around their needs, opinions and desires. Therefore, we support a variety of public initiatives, mainly independent non-governmental groups that are active wherever the role or capacity of the state is limited, which contribute to increased public participation in public affairs and create equal opportunities for the weaker or disabled.

Promote civil liberties and the rule of law. The respect for the rule of law, the transparency of public life, protection of civil liberties, minority rights, the rights of women, children and people with disabilities, immigrants and refugees – they are the cornerstone of democracy which we want to promote in Poland and other countries of the Region. We provide support to projects that enhance legal or civic education, measures to improve public access to legal aid and justice. We promote the understanding and methodology of public scrutiny of administration and the protection of the rights of individuals against any forms of abuse of power.

Develop international co-operation and solidarity. States have clearly defined borders. However, nations and societies should interact and enrich one another. We support projects that foster the exchange of experience with political transition, build civil society and solve social problems between Central and Eastern European countries. We are active towards rapprochement between the East and West and we object to the reestablishment of a new “iron curtain” on the eastern border of Poland. We seek the strengthening of the role of civic initiative in international relations and unity in the search for democracy and human rights.

The basic method of our operation is grant-making. In our activity we observe principle of transparency, openness and accountability. The applications for grants are assessed with the help of special expert committees which review and recommend applications for funding. Final decisions of grant awards are made by the Foundation’s Board. We announce up-to-date information about our activities and grant-seeking possibilities on our website http://www.batory.org.pl. Our finances are professionally audited and publicized in the Annual Report together with the list of grants awarded and projects implemented during the year.