The Republic Journal announced on their Instagram that they received $300,000 in grant funding from The Mellon Foundation in addition to $200,000 from The Open Society Foundations (OSF)!

The Republic Journal is a Nigeria-based magazine for “socio-economic and political commentary, criticism and cultural discourse, that explores the world as Nigerian.” The journal is meant to connect and empower communities that are open to learning from and about different perspectives.

These grants will aid them tremendously with their educational mission. Through The Mellon Foundation and Open Society Foundations, they can continue to “further the abilities of the next generation of Nigerian policymakers, business leaders, artists, journalists, professionals and scholars to challenge existing narratives and to stake a claim in the global politics of knowledge production.” Another mission of The Republic is to mainstream African ideas through developing an Open Access Network of universities across West Africa. Due to the lack of funding in some African universities many schools of information have been inaccessible to the public, The Republic wants to change that.

One way they plan to do this, is by expanding their coverage beyond just the web. They hope to one day expand to all forms of coverage, from print to video and beyond, so it’s accessible for all. SimilarlyThe Open Society Foundations aim for solutions to advance “just, equity, and human dignity.” Their donation to The Republic has allowed them the opportunity to provide free digital and print access to The Republic for 10 Nigerian universities and 5 more in West Africa. Their goals are perfectly aligned, and are sure to make sweeping change in the literary world.

In addition to one generous grant, The Mellon Foundation is a major supporter of the arts and humanities in the U.S. They believe that the human understanding of complex beliefs of humanity are vital. Their mission aligns with what The Republic aims to do, which means these two will be a perfect pair in the exploration of Nigerian arts. The Mellon Foundation granted funding to support the expansion of their coverage with the Heritage Management Organization, a US, Greece, and Gambia based cultural organization.

All together, the three are sure to make wonderful changes to West African universities, literary culture, arts and beyond, and we are thrilled to see what The Republic Journal will achieve.

If you want to read more about The Republic and see what they have been posting, go to their website.