The Open Society Foundation is a public non-profit and non-commercial organisation, registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus on 22 October 1993, the registration number 0325.

It was created on the initiative of the United Civil Party activists and liberal- and conservative-minded intellectuals. The President of the Foundation is Mr. Aleksander V. Sosnov, Ph.D. in Economics, Minister of Labor in 1994-96, who resigned in protest to the coup d'etate which was carried out under disguise of the "constitutional referendum."

The executive director of the foundation is Mr. Viktor Y. Chernov.

The postal address is: 220033 Belarus Minsk, p/b 194

The aim of the foundation is to promote and establish an open society, the market economy, political democracy, supremacy of the law, ensuring human rights and freedoms.

The main directions of the foundation's activity are economic and socio-political studies, teaching political technologies, civic education of the multiplication groups, enlightenment and publishing activity.

Since registration the Foundation held over ten international workshops, seminars and schools, including the political science school for journalists of independent media (January 1998); school of civil education for activists of the United Civil Party (1997-1998); conferences "Political development of Belarus, Poland and Germany in the end of 80s the beginning of 90s"(April 1996), "Economic reforms in the post-communist society: the liberal choice" (March 1994), "Employment issues in Belarus" (March 1996) and others.

Since 1996 the Foundation has been publishing its own informational and analytical bulletin named as a foundation "The Open Society." The bulletin is circulated free of charge to public opinion leaders in Belarus and abroad. The editor-in-chief is Mr. Mikhail k. Plisko.

Two centres work within the structure of the Foundation: the Institute for Civil Education; the Centre for political and social research and the Centre of electoral technologies.

The Foundation works in close co-operation with the deputy fraction of the 13th Supreme Soviet, political parties and democratic public organisations.

The Foundation co-operates with the Belarusian Association Of Young Political Leaders; the Belarusian Foundation in Support of Democratic Reform- Lev Sapieha Foundation, the Stephan Batory Foundation, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, Centre of Liberal-Conservative Politics (Moscow), Adenauer Stiftung- St. Petersburg, the East European Institute for Support of Democracy and others.

The Foundation may propose now the following projects for mutual implementation:

• School for teachers of secondary and higher educational establishments "New Political Education in Belarus (Toward an Open Society);"
• School for activists of political parties and democratically oriented civil associations "New Political Technologies";
• The political science school for journalists;
• -"Who is Who in the Republic of Belarus" guide;
• " Belarus: the look from the inside" a guide for the foreign reader;
• Publishing of "The Open Society" information and analytical bulletin;
• Workshop "The problems of understanding democratic and market values by the Belarusian people;"
• Workshop "The Christian values in the activities of political subjects in Belarus."

The Foundation is the full member of the Assembly of Belarusian non-governmental organisations.