Frequently Asked Questions

Centre for Democracy and Development (CEDED) is a national, non-governmental, and non-profit civil society organization dedicated to promoting peaceful, inclusive, and empowered communities in South Sudan. We operate at the frontline of civic engagement, translating complex governance, legal, and human rights frameworks into accessible, community-driven actions.

CEDED's roots trace back to June 12, 1998, when it was founded as a solitary Community Resource Centre under the New Sudan Education Agency (NSEA) to provide citizens with vital information on democratic governance. The organization became fully independent in 2008 as the Yei Community Resource Centre and officially rebranded as the Centre for Democracy and Development (CEDED) on August 16, 2012, evolving into the national civil society institution it is today.

CEDED maintains a strong, decentralized operational presence with established offices across Central, Eastern, and Western Equatoria States. In alignment with our current strategic outlook, we are progressively expanding our civic platforms and programmatic footprints into Jonglei and Northern Bahr el Ghazal States.

Our organizational mandate is executed across five core pillars:

• Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding

• Governance and Human Rights

• Livelihoods and Skills Development

• Climate Change Adaptation and Environmental Protection

• Strengthening Institutional Capacity

We utilize specialized, low-literacy participatory dialogue tools and community-driven methodologies. We believe that local populations are active partners and by reducing sensitive or complex legislative and political issues into simple, interactive formats, we ensure that grassroots communities directly own and drive their local development solutions.

CEDED works inclusively across all community strata irrespective of ethnicity, religion, race, or political affiliation. However, we structurally prioritize change agents and vulnerable groups, including:

• Women and Youth Leaders

• Local Duty-Bearers and Government Officials

• Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) and Student Groups

• Traditional Chiefs and Religious Leaders

• Persons with Disabilities (PWDs)

CEDED bridges the gap between grassroots advocacy and official state action. Our strategic achievements include mobilizing coalitions that successfully embedded the Women Agenda for Peace into official Western Equatoria State policy, securing permanent seats for women and youth in local planning committees, and establishing the institutional Human Rights and Rule of Law Forum in Yei to mandate the swift investigation of human rights concerns.

All CEDED interventions are strictly governed by a Conflict-Sensitive Lens and "Do No Harm" principles. We maintain absolute political neutrality, protect the safety of participants, and build deep cross-communal trust, ensuring our activities act as catalysts for social cohesion rather than friction.

CEDED is backed by a prestigious network of international development agencies, multilateral funding bodies, and national coalitions. Our historical and current resource partners include the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), USIP, USAID, Civil Rights Defenders (CRD), Open Society Foundations (OSIEA), and the UNMISS Human Rights Division.

Transparency and accountability are among our highest core values. CEDED operates under the strict oversight of an independent, diverse Board of Directors. We maintain rigorous international standard internal controls, undergo annual independent financial audits, and consistently enforce compliance with national statutory regulations to protect donor resources.

We welcome strategic collaborations regarding joint proposal co-implementation, technical knowledge exchange, and core institutional funding. Interested development partners, INGOs, and research networks can submit a formal inquiry directly through our website's Partner With Us intake form or contact our Juba Secretariat.

Yes. As part of our strategic evolution into a regional learning institution, CEDED systematically publishes its primary research, monthly field advisories, annual reports, and low-literacy participatory manuals. These knowledge products are fully accessible via the Publications section of this website.

The Institute for Peace, Governance and Leadership (IPGL) is CEDED's newly established intellectual engine and training academy. It codifies our nearly three decades of grassroots experience into formalized, certified professional courses and fellowship tracks designed to build the technical capacity of future civil society leaders and public duty-bearers.

All open professional vacancies, technical consultancy terms of reference, and quarterly internship openings are systematically posted on our dedicated Careers page. Unsolicited technical corporate profiles for our consultant roster can be submitted directly to careers@ceded.org.

Information regarding our national dialogue platforms, such as The Juba Debates or the Yei Civil Society Monthly Breakfast Meetings, is continuously updated on our Events page. You can review schedules, register for panels, and secure entry passes directly through our official Eventbrite integration.