CDEA was conceived after one of its directors, who in her capacity as a member the Commonwealth Group on Culture and Development, participated in drafting the Commonwealth Statement on Culture and Development in 2009, and realized there was 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 to take forward its recommendations through strengthened partnerships.

CDEA was incorporated on October 19, 2011 and began its implementation 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 plann...