CDEA was conceived after one of its directors, who, in her capacity as a member of the Commonwealth Group on Culture and Development, participated in drafting the Commonwealth Statement on Culture and Development in 2009 and realized there was a need for a civil society organization to hold the East African partner states accountable for the promises they were making at international platforms on culture and development. The statement urged heads of government to recognize the connections between culture and development and take forward its recommendations through strengthened partnerships.

CDEA was incorporated on October 19, 2011, and was implemented in 2012 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. CDEA’s Culture and Governance programme was formed to respond to the need for civil society to engage in participatory governance. CDEA’s programme activities aim to mobilize and support civil society in East Africa to participate in evidence-based policy advocacy to place culture at the centre of human development.

In 2015, after a strategic planning process, CDEA embraced both its advocacy and service provider roles. CDEA is now a creative think tank based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, that facilitates multi-stakeholders to use culture as a resource to promote creativity and innovation supported by technology to solve the numerous social, political and economic challenges faced in East Africa. The creative think tank is also a hub where science meets art, and art meets other disciplines to innovate “out-of-the-box” solutions for this and the coming generation.

CDEA’s work is aligned with the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of Diversity Cultural Expressions, the African Union Plan of Action for the Cultural and Creative Industries, and the 1972 UNESCO Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. Our programming is focused on research, incubation and acceleration of the creative industries, support of creative writers through our Writers’ Lounge and implementation of projects around preserving natural heritage, climate justice, peace and social cohesion, sustainable cities and tourism. 2018 CDEA received consultative status from the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Over the last two years, Voice collaborated with the Spindle of Partos to launch the Nothing About Us, Without Us! (NOW-Us!) Awards. The awards recognized inspiring, inclusive initiatives from Africa and Asia to promote diversity and inclusion and to trigger the self-empowerment of rightsholder groups and communities. 10 finalists were invited to participate in a week-long human-centred design process where they can reflect, learn, design, and iterate on the next steps for their initiatives. On the last day, they pitched their ideas to a jury that picked the winners to receive Empowerment grants from Voice. The event coincides with the Partos Innovation Festival held every October in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The NOW-Us! Awards have been positively and enthusiastically received. To expand its reach and further amplify inclusive initiatives done at the country level, Voice is planning to have national NOW-Us! Awards in the countries where Voice is present.

The grant applied to CDEA and TASUWORI will support the implementation of Celebrating Inclusion. This project’s key objective is to bring rightsholder voices together and, through an Award, highlight unsung efforts to take us one step closer to a responsive and inclusive society.

The activities that will be implemented in this project include working with the Voice country team to identify ten organisations or initiatives from the Voice rightsholder groups in Tanzania who are already implementing amazing inclusive innovations to their empowerment or influencing practice; Organise and facilitating a participatory 5-day inclusive innovation boot camp for the ten organisations or movements to reflect, refine, and ideate the next steps for their initiative; Organise the award ceremony, preferably as a component of a larger event or celebration where different civil society members and stakeholders gather; Support and mentor the winners in their inclusion innovation journey, including their participation in the Innovation Festival in the Netherlands; Amplify and promote the NOW-Us! Awards to influence national conversations on diversity and inclusion.