Who are we?

Core Objectives of CDA

1. Promote Youth Leadership
   To nurture the leadership potential of young men and women by providing them with opportunities for active participation in planning, decision-making, and governance at community, state, and national levels.
2. Advance Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation
   To train and mobilize youth as peacebuilders and dialogue facilitators in communities affected by social, cultural, ethnic, gender-based, or political conflict.
3. Foster Inclusion and Social Cohesion
   To build inclusive communities by promoting intercultural understanding, gender equity, and the active engagement of marginalized youth—including tribal, differently-abled, and conflict-affected populations.
4. Support Youth Livelihoods and Life Skills
   To enhance the employability and economic independence of youth through skill development, entrepreneurship training, and career mentoring—particularly in vulnerable or at-risk communities.
5. Promote Youth Rights and Active Citizenship
   To educate and advocate for youth rights in health, education, and livelihood, while building awareness on civic duties, democratic values, and the importance of youth representation in public institutions.
6. Encourage Creative and Digital Engagement
   To use creative arts, sports, media, and digital platforms as tools for youth expression, behavior change communication, and community mobilization.
7. Build Partnerships and Networks
   To strengthen collaboration with like-minded organizations, youth networks, educational institutions, and international agencies to scale impact, share learning, and influence youth policies.

Our Mandate and Goals

CDA strives to promote youth leadership, community empowerment, active tolerance, and responsible citizenship by focusing on four critical drivers of change:

• Innovation
• Quality
• Impact
• Sustainability

Our work centres around cultivating a culture of human rights, peace, and dialogue while building mutual understanding and cooperative relations among youth from different cultures, languages, and faiths. As a youth-led organization, CDA ensures meaningful youth engagement in planning, decision-making, and implementation of their own development initiatives.

Our Approach

CDA works through a participatory and inclusive model, collaborating with:

• Local youth associations and NGOs
• Faith-based and cultural networks
• Educational institutions
• National and international organizations including UNESCO, IFAD, WHO and others
• We emphasize networking, creativity, and inclusive community approaches to ensure that our impact is deep, sustainable, and replicable.

Our Vision for the Future

CDA envisions a society where young people lead the way in building peaceful, inclusive, and resilient communities. We aim to expand our impact by scaling up successful models, strengthening partnerships, and investing in the next generation of youth peacebuilders and social changemakers.

Who We Are

CDA is governed and driven by youth. All eight members of our governing body are between the ages of 18–35, with equal representation of men and women (4 male and 4 female). Our membership base includes 2,000+ young volunteers, 50% of whom are female, representing diverse identities and regions across India. Our members are united by a shared vision of peace, inclusion, and development.

Our youth leaders act as change agents in their own communities, working to resolve local conflicts, reduce violence, and promote inclusion. Through CDA, they gain the skills, confidence, and support to address complex social issues—such as tribal and ethnic conflicts, religious intolerance, gender-based violence, and integration challenges in multicultural societies.