The Community Empowerment Program (CEP) is a three-year, non-formal education program implemented in local languages and designed with communities.

It begins by strengthening understanding of human rights, shared responsibilities, and collective wellbeing. Through dialogue, participants define a shared vision for their future. The program then builds practical skills in literacy, governance, health, environmental management, and economic initiatives, enabling communities to act on these priorities.

The CEP is inclusive, with separate classes for adolescents and adults. Communities establish representative management committees, with strong participation of women and youth, to lead local initiatives and engage with public institutions. Children’s Councils further support youth participation. Knowledge spreads beyond participating communities through social networks, contributing to broader changes in practices and social norms.

The program builds the conditions for sustained, community-led development grounded in local leadership and collective action. 

The model behind the CEP also travels beyond Tostan’s direct program footprint. Through the Tostan Training Center in Thiès, Senegal, practitioners from NGOs, government bodies, and development organizations engage with the methodology through participatory sessions, field visits to partner communities, and direct exchanges with community management committees and facilitators. More than 1,000 participants from 50 countries have completed these programs to date, through formats ranging from five-day orientation seminars to three-week trainer preparation programs and customized deepening work in partner countries. This is how the approach extends: through practitioners and institutions that have experienced community-led education from the inside and carry it into their own work.