Synergy Social Re-Engineering Consultancy Firm

The organization has received grants from the Open Society Foundations, formerly known as the Open Society Institute, a foundation founded by left-of-center billionaire financier George Soros. Synergy received a grant of $40,000 in 2010 and a grant of $45,000 in 2011. ^{1 2}

Background

Synergy Social Re-Engineering Consultancy Firm is an organization operating in Southeast Asia. ¹ The group has engaged in the creation of technical educational centers for development management in Myanmar, both in villages in the Irrawaddy Delta and in the country’s largest city (and former capital) of Yangon. ^{1 2}

Funding

In 2010, Synergy Social Re-Engineering Consultancy Firm received a grant of $40,000 from George Soros’s Open Society Institute (now the Open Society Foundations) to “support a development management school and provide technical support to village development communities in the Irrawaddy Delta,” a floodplain in Myanmar. According to the United States Geological Survey, the Irrawaddy Delta (also known as the Ayeyarwady) is known for having been heavily deforested of its mangrove trees between 1978 and 2011. The address for the recipient was listed on that tax return as being in Chiang Mai, Thailand. ^{1 3}

In 2011, Synergy Social Re-Engineering Consultancy Firm received a grant of $45,000 from the Open Society Institute “to support a development management school in Rangoon and provide technical support and running cost.” The address for the recipient was listed on that tax return as being in Yangon, Burma; “Rangoon” is an alternative spelling of Yangon, and Burma was the previous name for the country of Myanmar. ^{2 4 5}

The Open Society Foundations is known for its extensive involvement in Myanmar since 1994, when it supported democratic political initiatives in opposition to the country’s military-led regime. Since 2017, Open Society’s operations in the country have been led by an independent organization, Open Society Myanmar, through which the organization supports “inclusive education,” “access to health care,” “support for drug policy reform,” protection for the “rights of ethnic and religious minorities,” and support for “a new generation of political leaders who will help secure the country’s democratic reforms.” The total 2020 budget for Open Society Myanmar was $4.6 million, with 34 percent of grants, the largest subsection, being directed toward “equality & antidiscrimination.” ⁶