Connecting Dreams Foundation

In a diverse society, it is imperative that every individual enjoys equal rights and has equitable access to resources and opportunities. However, transpersons have long been marginalized, lacking equal access to opportunities, resources, and societal acceptance.
These individuals have often been overlooked and excluded, underscoring the pressing need for a socially inclusive initiative aimed at empowering transpersons. Transformation is one such initiative, focusing on empowering transpersons through a comprehensive approach that includes IT knowledge building, skill development, and facilitating their integration into mainstream employment or entrepreneurial opportunities.

Youth-Driven Localization – An Innovative Approach to Advancing Sustainable Development Goals
CDF empowers young individuals to engineer sustainable solutions through education, community engagement, and innovation.
The Changemaker Lab Program represents a unique blend of virtual and physical learning, forming a cornerstone of our institutional approach to education and local action. Within this program, CDF nurtures and trains young individuals, cultivating them into SDG Champions who are poised to develop sustainable business models that prioritize the crucial element of sustainability.
The initiatives are guided by a three-step theory of change, where CDF collects challenges, craft solutions, and ultimately transforms lives. CDF achieves this through collaboration with diverse stakeholders, all while fostering a supportive environment for innovation.

The Global Changemaker Fellowship is a 6-month virtual program designed to connect and cultivate a network of Social Change Leaders dedicated to addressing local community challenges.
Throughout the program, Fellows concurrently advance their initiatives while engaging in immersive workshops, training sessions, and mentorship. The fellowship provides changemakers with an invaluable opportunity to access global knowledge, a supportive community, comprehensive training, and essential tools to enhance their collaborative capacity for driving change and scaling their initiatives.
Key Fellowship Highlights:
• A diverse global cohort of individuals dedicated to addressing community-based challenges in their respective areas.
• Fellows can maintain their college or job commitments during the fellowship period.
• Weekly assignments, each requiring 3-4 hours of dedicated effort during training.
• Ongoing support from Global Experts and Mentors to bolster their initiatives.

Change Advocacy functions as a platform for participation in webinars, events, and publications aimed at promoting and raising awareness about change-making and its significance in achieving the SDG.

The Youth For Sustainability Dialogues (Y4SD) provides young individuals with a platform to present their project ideas to a broad audience comprising peers of their age group and experts, including educators, journalists, entrepreneurs, and development professionals from around the globe. Every two weeks, CDF hosts a Y4SD session that focuses on a specific SDG, selected in accordance with the UN's SDG Planning Calendar, Annual International Days, or other relevant and significant events. During each Y4SD session, 2-3 young participants deliver brief presentations about their project concepts, implementation progress, and the impact achieved. An invited expert from the respective field listens attentively and offers valuable feedback to the participating teams.

The Changemaker Academy is a collection of practical, transformative, and professionally designed learning resources. These resources are geared towards helping changemakers turn knowledge into tangible actions as they strive to instigate positive change within their initiatives.
This platform serves as an educational hub for aspiring changemakers, offering them a chance to comprehensively grasp the concept of Changemaking, which addresses social issues and facilitates the creation of sustainable and scalable solutions. Changemakers will be exposed to global insights into social innovations and will develop the skills to drive meaningful social change by gaining a profound understanding of the underlying systemic issues. The Academy provides an avenue for crafting specific action plans to tackle a diverse range of challenges that align with the global SDG, with a focus on the multifaceted nature of development.