ABOUT US

The Curriculum Development Project Trust (CDP) was founded by the late Charlotte Schaer in 1989 in response to the lack of access to creative arts education and training, and to the subversion of local cultural practices and ideological skewed perspectives under the then Department of Education and Training (DET for black schooling).

The initiative was a result of the popularity of the Khula Udweba (Draw as you grow – grow as you draw), course at FUNDA in Soweto in the early 80’s, and requests from DET teachers and artists to design training programmes developing relevant, innovative and progressive teaching methodologies and curriculum. 

The CDP has served on numerous National and Provincial Curriculum policy development structures since 1994, contributing experience and knowledge in the arts and their cultural forms We were members of a team achieving an historical first in that Arts and Culture as a leaning area in schools should not only be accessible to all, but an equal learning area in Curriculum Policy.

 The CDP continues to train educators in Arts and Culture in a number of provinces. As a socially responsive NGO, the CDP has over the years expanded our programmes to embrace expressed needs in communities in the current socio political environments; particularly those affecting the lives and well being of women and children. 

These innovative programmes are driven through the creative arts and their cultural forms and address issues of social justice and gender-based violence, trauma, sexual health, LGBTI, Early Childhood practitioner and trainer development, women in leadership supporting women in their communities, women’s public advocacy media, economic empowerment, and children of the Inner City projects. The CDP has a long-standing practice of evaluating and documenting our work resulting in the writing of resource manuals used by the various constituencies.

As an NGO, the CDP is primarily funded by donors. Our programmes are delivered to organisations in the above fields, but we are also commissioned by Government departments, by corporates social responsibility initiatives, and partner organisations.

The CDP Board of Trustees are the fiduciaries who steers the organisation towards a sustainable future by adopting sound, ethical and legal governance and financial management policies, as well as by ensuring that the organisation has adequate resources to advance it’s mission.

Visual Artists and Trainers