Open Dialogue Foundation
An international human-rights and rule-of-law nongovernmental organization founded in Poland and headquartered in Brussels.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF), formerly known as the Open Dialog Foundation, is an international nongovernmental organization working on human rights, democracy, civil society, and the rule of law. It was established in Warsaw in 2009 and formally registered in Poland in 2010 by Lyudmyla Kozlovska, a Ukrainian civic activist from Sevastopol who moved to Poland after the Orange Revolution. The organization initially concentrated on human-rights conditions in the post-Soviet region, particularly Central Asia, Ukraine, and Russia, and later expanded its advocacy to rule-of-law and civil-liberties issues inside the European Union. ODF grew in public visibility through its involvement in Ukraine’s Euromaidan protests in late 2013 and early 2014. It organized monitoring missions, supported international observers, held public events and concerts, and maintained what it described as the only permanent presence of an EU-based nongovernmental organization at the protest site. It also coordinated humanitarian assistance, including medicines, medical supplies, helmets, and protective equipment, and subsequently operated Ukrainian World, a support center for people arriving from Ukraine in Warsaw. The organization has continued to campaign for the release of Ukrainian political prisoners and prisoners of war held by Russia, including Nadiya Savchenko and Oleg Sentsov, and has advocated sanctions, accountability, and closer Ukrainian integration with the European Union. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, humanitarian assistance became one of ODF’s principal activities. The foundation has supported refugees, delivered supplies to Ukraine, assisted with evacuation and relocation, and provided defensive equipment and other aid to Ukrainian institutions and communities. Its activities have included missions to frontline and recently affected areas such as Bakhmut and Kherson, an assistance point at Warsaw’s Eastern Railway Station, and four homes for Ukrainian refugee mothers seeking independent living. The foundation has also worked with Aether Biomedical on a campaign supplying bionic prostheses to Ukrainian veterans. In Poland, ODF has become an advocate for judicial independence, civic freedoms, and protection against politically motivated prosecutions. Its work has included reports on judges and prosecutors facing pressure, submissions to European and international institutions, public hearings, and appeals concerning Poland’s judiciary and prosecution service. The foundation’s criticism of reforms pursued by the Polish government after 2015 generated an extended political and legal dispute. In 2017, a public article by board chair Bartosz Kramek on civic disobedience led to government pressure, a fiscal investigation, and an unsuccessful court application seeking to replace the foundation’s board. ODF has also participated in European advocacy concerning the rule of law, surveillance, and the operation of the EU Transparency Register. The organization works through research, public campaigning, monitoring missions, humanitarian operations, legal and policy advocacy, and engagement with parliaments and international bodies. In 2023 it received participatory status with the Council of Europe in fields including democracy, civil society, human rights, prevention of torture, European integration, the rule of law, and anti-corruption. Its present identity combines a human-rights advocacy organization with a humanitarian actor focused particularly on Ukraine and a watchdog of democratic standards in Poland and the wider European Union.
History
The Open Dialogue Foundation was created in Warsaw in 2009 and registered in Poland in 2010 by Lyudmyla Kozlovska. Its origins lay in a human-rights forum on Central Asia held in Poland in 2008, where Kozlovska worked with activists from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Following an introduction to Member of the European Parliament Andrzej Grzyb, she began presenting human-rights issues to European audiences. The foundation drew organizational inspiration from civic movements associated with Ukraine’s Orange Revolution. Its early work addressed repression and civic rights in the post-Soviet space. Ukraine became the foundation’s most visible area of activity during the Euromaidan protests. Between November 2013 and January 2014, ODF organized monitoring missions involving Polish parliamentarians and arranged concerts at the protest site. In January 2014 it began a longer monitoring operation, maintained a permanent information and support tent, and helped international observers engage with events in Kyiv. The mission lasted 56 days and involved dozens of volunteers on the ground, with hundreds participating in the wider effort. ODF also organized a large humanitarian campaign that delivered medicines, medical supplies, helmets, and bulletproof vests to protesters, journalists, observers, and communities in eastern Ukraine. From 2014 to 2016, the foundation operated Ukrainian World in central Warsaw. The center assisted more than 30,000 people according to estimates cited in reference material, initially focusing on refugees and later expanding into Ukrainian cultural and integration work. ODF simultaneously campaigned for the release of Ukrainian nationals imprisoned by Russia, notably pilot Nadiya Savchenko and filmmaker Oleg Sentsov. It joined the #LetMyPeopleGo initiative with the Center for Civil Liberties and Euromaidan SOS, helping document people described by the campaign as Kremlin hostages. It also advocated stronger sanctions against Russia, accountability for abuses, and Ukraine’s European integration. From 2017 onward, ODF increasingly concentrated on Poland’s constitutional and rule-of-law disputes. It supported civic opposition to reforms affecting the Supreme Court and the judiciary and published material about judges and prosecutors it regarded as politically persecuted. A 2017 article by board chair Bartosz Kramek outlining forms of civic disobedience provoked strong criticism from government supporters. The foreign minister sought removal of the article, fiscal authorities opened a complex inspection, and the ministry later asked a court to dissolve or replace the foundation’s board. The court rejected that application in December 2017. The dispute became part of a broader contest over the role of nongovernmental organizations in Poland’s democratic system. ODF’s reports and advocacy were subsequently used or considered by European and international institutions, including United Nations human-rights processes and European Union rule-of-law monitoring. The foundation engaged with the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the OSCE, and United States policymakers. Its activities included appeals about disciplinary proceedings against judges, the independence of Poland’s Supreme Court, the EU rule-of-law conditionality mechanism, and alleged politically motivated prosecutions. It also campaigned against the presence and influence of Ordo Iuris in Brussels and complained about that organization’s registration in the EU Transparency Register. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shifted a major portion of ODF’s operational capacity toward humanitarian response. It delivered aid to Ukraine, assisted refugees, supported relocation to Western countries, and operated an aid point at Warsaw’s Eastern Railway Station. It established four homes for Ukrainian refugee mothers and conducted missions to frontline and disaster-affected areas, including Bakhmut and Kherson after the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam. By June 2023, reference material reported that the foundation had provided aid valued at more than PLN 35 million; the figure is not independently detailed here because the underlying financial documentation and reporting period should be checked before use as a formal financial claim. In 2023, ODF received participatory status with the Council of Europe. Since September 2024 it has worked with Aether Biomedical on delivering bionic prostheses to Ukrainian veterans. Its continuing profile therefore combines international human-rights advocacy with practical humanitarian assistance, especially for Ukrainians affected by war, while retaining a strong focus on democratic accountability and judicial independence in Poland and the European Union.
- 2024
Bionic-prosthesis campaign
[2]ODF began working with Aether Biomedical to provide bionic prostheses to Ukrainian veterans.
- 2023
Council of Europe participatory status
[1]ODF gained participatory status in areas including democracy, human rights, civil society, and rule of law.
- 2017
Dispute with Polish authorities
[1]Government pressure followed ODF criticism of judicial reforms and a civic-disobedience article by Bartosz Kramek; a board-replacement application was later dismissed.
- 2014
Humanitarian campaign for Ukraine
[1]The foundation delivered medical and protective supplies and opened the Ukrainian World support center in Warsaw.
- 2013
Euromaidan monitoring begins
[1]ODF began monitoring and public-support activities connected with Ukraine’s Euromaidan protests.
- 2010
Formal registration in Poland
[1]The foundation received formal legal registration in Poland.
- 2009
Foundation established in Warsaw
[1]The organization was founded in Poland by Lyudmyla Kozlovska, initially focusing on human rights in the post-Soviet region.
Products and positioning
An independent, internationally oriented civil-society organization combining human-rights research, democratic rule-of-law advocacy, public campaigning, and humanitarian support, with a strong focus on Ukraine, Poland, Russia, and European institutions.
Research and advocacy
Human-rights reports
Research publications and case documentation concerning human rights, political prisoners, civic freedoms, judicial independence, corruption, and rule-of-law conditions in Ukraine, Russia, Poland, and the wider European context.
Relief services · 2014
Humanitarian assistance
Emergency and logistical support for Ukraine and people displaced by the war, including medical supplies, protective equipment, frontline deliveries, evacuation assistance, refugee support, and aid for affected communities.
Refugee and integration center · 2014
Ukrainian World
A Warsaw-based assistance center that supported people arriving from Ukraine from 2014 to 2016. Its work later included Ukrainian cultural and integration activities.
Public-interest advocacy · 2017
Rule-of-law advocacy
Policy interventions, hearings, appeals, and submissions to European and international institutions addressing judicial independence, prosecution services, civic space, surveillance, and politically motivated proceedings.
Controversies
2021
Detention of Bartosz Kramek during a protest
ODF reported that board chair Bartosz Kramek was pepper-sprayed, pushed into snow, and detained during a protest. Police alleged he had thrown snowballs; Kramek denied this, and video recordings were cited as supporting his account.
2017
Conflict with the Polish government over governance and advocacy
After ODF criticized government judicial reforms and published a civic-disobedience article, Polish authorities sought removal of the article, initiated fiscal scrutiny, and applied to the court to dissolve or replace the foundation’s board. The court dismissed the application in December 2017.
Marketing campaigns
- 2024Bionic prostheses for Ukrainian veterans
Ukraine
ODF partnered with Aether Biomedical on a campaign to deliver bionic prostheses to Ukrainian veterans.
- 2022Ukraine refugee and humanitarian response
Ukraine · Poland · European Union
After Russia’s full-scale invasion, ODF expanded aid deliveries, refugee assistance, relocation support, frontline missions, and housing for Ukrainian refugee mothers.
Outcome. The response became one of the foundation’s central continuing programs.
- 2020Brussels campaign against Ordo Iuris premises
Belgium · European Union
ODF and Solidarity Action Brussels campaigned for termination of the Brussels lease used by Ordo Iuris and later complained about its EU Transparency Register status.
Outcome. The lease campaign was described as successful; the related transparency-register complaint was supported by dozens of MEPs.
- 2018#InterpolNotForPutin
European Union · International
ODF joined international nongovernmental organizations and Members of the European Parliament in opposing the proposed appointment of Russian general Alexander Prokopchuk as Interpol president.
Outcome. The campaign helped publicize concerns about the potential politicization of Interpol.
- 2014Euromaidan humanitarian support
Ukraine · Poland
ODF organized monitoring missions, maintained a support tent at the Euromaidan, and delivered medicines, medical supplies, helmets, and bulletproof vests to protesters, journalists, observers, and communities in eastern Ukraine.
Outcome. The campaign established ODF as a prominent Ukraine-focused civil-society organization and led to further refugee and humanitarian programs.
- 2014#LetMyPeopleGo
European Union · Ukraine · Russia
A coalition campaign seeking the release of Ukrainian political prisoners and prisoners of war held by Russia, including Nadiya Savchenko and Oleg Sentsov.
Outcome. The campaign created a public monitoring and advocacy platform documenting cases described as Kremlin hostages.
Brand decisions
2022
Prioritize large-scale humanitarian support for UkraineStrategyBackground
Russia’s full-scale invasion created an urgent need for humanitarian aid and refugee assistance.
Action taken
ODF expanded deliveries, refugee services, evacuation and relocation support, frontline missions, and housing programs.
Aftermath
Humanitarian operations became a principal part of the foundation’s continuing work.
2017
Expand into Polish rule-of-law advocacyStrategyBackground
Controversial judicial reforms in Poland prompted ODF to support civic movements defending judicial independence and to document alleged pressure on judges and prosecutors.
Action taken
The foundation increased domestic advocacy, produced reports, and engaged European and international institutions.
Aftermath
Its work became central to an extended dispute with Polish government authorities and supporters.
Recent events
- 2024
Appeal seeks review of politically motivated prosecutions in Poland[1]
Campaign · Regulation
ODF and partner organizations appealed for review and rehabilitation in cases allegedly affected by political pressure; Prosecutor General Adam Bodnar responded favorably and announced dedicated review mechanisms.
- 2023
ODF receives participatory status with the Council of Europe[1]
Other
The Council of Europe recognized the foundation’s participation in work concerning democracy, human rights, civil society, rule of law, and related fields.
- 2022
ODF expands humanitarian assistance after Russia’s full-scale invasion[1]
Other
The foundation increased aid for Ukraine and refugees, including frontline missions, evacuation assistance, supplies, and support for Ukrainian communities in Poland.
- 2018
ODF campaigns against Alexander Prokopchuk’s Interpol candidacy[1]
Campaign · Other
The foundation joined international criticism of the proposed appointment of Russian general Alexander Prokopchuk as Interpol president through the #InterpolNotForPutin campaign.
- 2014
Open Dialogue Foundation supports Euromaidan monitoring and relief[1]
Other
ODF conducted monitoring missions at the Euromaidan, maintained a permanent tent, and organized medical and protective supplies for protesters, journalists, and observers.
- 2014
Ukrainian World support center operates in Warsaw[1]
Other
The foundation established a Warsaw assistance center for people arriving from Ukraine and later added cultural and integration activities.
Sources2 sources
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