The Open Society Fellowship aims to elevate local thinkers from cities that often fall outside the radar of dominant global discourses.Photo by pexels-pixabay-
In a bold affirmation of intellectual life beyond traditional power centers, the Open Society Foundations has announced its 2025–26 cohort of Open Society Fellows—31 public thinkers, artists, and scholars drawn from seven vibrant Global South cities.
Among them are voices from Dar es Salaam and Lagos, who are bringing African perspectives into critical global conversations on justice, identity, inequality, and climate.
The selected cities—Beirut, Buenos Aires, Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Jakarta, Lagos, and Taipei—are all places where the ferment of ideas, creativity, and critique thrive amid shifting political and social landscapes.
Fellows will receive a $120,000 grant, participate in in-person convenings, and join a global network dedicated to shared learning and collaborative impact.
“We’re in the midst of momentous changes around the world—changes that are unsettling our assumptions and forcing us to revisit them,” said Binaifer Nowrojee, president of the Open Society Foundations.
“The bold ideas and energy that this global fellowship brings are not just important, but crucial in this moment. The Open Society Fellowship has a very special place in the work of the foundations, and the fellows will help shape global conversations on the most pressing issues of our time—from human rights and social justice to climate change and inequality.”
Fellows were selected by a panel of external reviewers for their heterodoxy, openness to unconventional thinking, and capacity for rigorous debate.
According to the Foundations, this approach is core to maintaining a vision of “restless critical thought” that challenges orthodoxy while addressing the urgent needs of today’s world.
Spotlight: Africa’s Public Intellectuals in the Fellowship
Dar es Salaam and Lagos, two cities at the heart of the continent’s intellectual and cultural currents, are represented in this cohort by thinkers whose work connects local lived experiences with global systems of power and possibility.
Fellows from African Cities
Lagos, Nigeria
- Anwuli Ojogwu — Editor and publisher examining the current state of African literature and challenges related to intellectual apathy, migration, and democratic erosion across the continent, Reddit+15Open Society Foundations+15Your Opportunities Africa+15.
- Sa’eed Husaini — Political scientist comparing right-wing social movements in Nigeria and the U.S. Midwest, focusing on how local participation shapes national politics, Open Society Foundations.
- Tosin Oshinowo — Architect, designer, and curator exploring how Lagos’s Indigenous markets operate as self-organizing systems in African urbanism, offering sustainable alternatives in the face of climate change and inequality. Open Society Foundations.
- Victor Ehikhamenor — Artist, photographer, and writer delving into the aesthetics and cultural significance of Edo State’s commemorative sites, linking traditional inscriptions and Indigenous African systems with nature and culture, Open Society Foundations
In Dar es Salaam, the fellowship adds a unique East African lens to the broader intellectual community it is building.
While the announcement did not specify the Tanzanian fellow by name, their inclusion reflects the program’s commitment to supporting thinkers in places where public discourse continues to flourish despite political, social, or infrastructural constraints.
“The Open Society Fellowship is committed to supporting public intellectuals in cities that act as crucibles of critical debate and cultural experimentation,” said Stephen Hubbell, director of the fellowship.
We hope to enable public intellectuals in those places to take their rightful place on the global stage and link their work to the broader goal of advancing open society,” said fellowship director Stephen Hubbell.
A Platform for Critical Exchange
The Open Society Fellowship aims to elevate local thinkers from cities that often fall outside the radar of dominant global discourses.
Through peer exchange, public events, and cross-city dialogues, the fellowship creates platforms where ideas rooted in specific geographies can inform wider movements for change.
The focus on public intellectuals—those who work at the intersection of scholarship, creativity, activism, and community—signals a deliberate shift from elite technocracy toward grounded, plural, and community-connected knowledge systems.
By choosing Lagos and Dar es Salaam alongside other dynamic cities, the Open Society Foundations acknowledges Africa not just as a site of intervention, but as a source of vital ideas, critique, and imagination in the struggle for more open and just societies.
About the Open Society Foundations
The Open Society Foundations is among the world’s largest private funders of independent groups working for justice, democratic governance, and human rights.
Established by philanthropist George Soros, the Foundations support a vast network of partners across the globe—including researchers, artists, activists, and institutions—committed to advancing open and inclusive societies.
With operations in over 100 countries, the organization is driven by the belief that enduring change is best achieved through local leadership, sustained civic engagement, and an unwavering commitment to democratic values.
For more on the Open Society Fellowship and the 2025–26 cohort, visit:
https://www.
