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The Community Empowerment Program
Tostan’s award-winning Community Empowerment Program (CEP) provides African communities with the knowledge and skills necessary to lead initiatives for social change in a sustainable way. Developed over the past 30 years through an ongoing process of community consultation and careful revision, the CEP has become one of the most unique and effective community development programs in Africa. Follow the links below to learn more about the program.
The Community Empowerment Program, implemented in rural communities over 30-months, is a holistic education program based on a fundamental respect for human rights. The course covers a broad range of practical information, including health and hygiene, while also building dialogue around human rights and helping participants to develop problem solving skills. Participants learn to design projects relevant to their community’s needs and build the management, mathematical and literacy skills necessary to implement those projects. Follow the link above for a detailed introduction to the program’s structure and contents.
Our Approach
The CEP is taught using traditional participative and oral techniques that are central to knowledge-sharing in the region. Tostan supervisors and facilitators with local expertise adapt teaching techniques in order to present the CEP information in ways that are practical, engaging, and culturally relevant. Tostan’s holistic and future-oriented approach emphasizes respect, participation, and sustainability. Learn about the educational philosophy that has allowed Tostan’s CEP to become an effective and respected model for education, development, and social change.
Community-Led Outreach
Tostan utilizes the concept of organized diffusion to ensure that the ideas, perspectives, and discussions shared by participants in the CEP are spread effectively throughout the community and surrounding areas. Tostan understands that development is most effective and sustainable when it actively engages entire social networks. Learn more about the role that these networks play in bringing about social change.
Sustainability: The Empowered Communities Network
In each partner community, Tostan trains a democratically selected Community Management Committee (CMC) that is responsible for sustaining the activities and development projects that result from Tostan's education program. The CMCs ensure that the lessons learned throughout the CEP are translated into lasting, sustainable, community-led development initiatives even after the program concludes. Tostan then links communities through its Empowered Communities Network (ECN), which allows CMCs to develop partnerships, improve their capacities, and strengthen their development projects. See how Tostan empowers communities to take the lead of their own development.
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