The organization's mission is "to empower communities to develop and achieve their vision for the future and inspire large-scale movements leading to dignity for all" in several West African countries, including Senegal, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Mali, and Mauritania.

[2] The organization employs over 500 people and works to foster and promote community engagement in projects relating to literacy, health and hygiene, child welfare, human rights and democracy, environmental sustainability, and economic empowerment.

[8] Prior to 1997, the CEP contained six modules, covering problem-solving skills, health and hygiene, child mortality prevention, financial management, leadership and group dynamics, and feasibility studies for income-generating projects.

The Prison Project consists of a modified form of the CEP that aims to provide detainees with the resources to help them to develop valuable income-generating skills, restore contact with their families, and reintegrate smoothly into society, thereby also reducing recidivism rates.

[12] Tostan subsequently launched the Breakthrough Generation Project in 2017, again directly reaching 150 communities over a period of three years in Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, and The Gambia.

At the TTC, it offers a 10-day training program on its approach to community-led development in both English and French for community activists, members of local, national and international organizations and governments, and representatives from academia and the media.

Tostan had at first hesitated to raise the issue of female genital cutting in its programming, believing it to be too sensitive and liable to undermine its work, but insistence from employees in the field eventually led the organization to include information about the practice.

[19] This new information, together with a newfound understanding of their basic human rights, led the women of Malicounda Bambara, a village in western Senegal, to decide collectively to abandon the practice.

[24] Tostan therefore conducts its programming in a way that attempts to respect and build on local context, believing that such an approach enables participants to more easily expand their understanding and develop greater insight into their practices and beliefs.

[24] To date, Tostan's programs have been implemented in 22 different languages, including Wolof, Serer, Fulani, Soninké, Mandinka, Diola, Sousou, Malinké, Pulaar, Kissi, Guerze, Creole, Bambara, Hassaniya, Serehule, Bamanankan, Somali, Afar, as well as French, English, and Arabic.

[24] In the same vein, Tostan takes a non-judgmental approach when broaching sensitive topics, offering community members the chance to reflect thoughtfully and meaningfully on what they believe and why without self-censoring because of a fear of criticism from outside.

Tostan's theory of change is based largely on the work of Gerry Mackie, a researcher at the University of California, San Diego who hypothesized in a 1996 American Sociological Review article that female genital cutting, like the practice of foot-binding in China, would end quickly once people began ending the practice collectively in order to preserve a woman's ability to marry within their ethnic group.

It is a three-year, non-formal curriculum based on fundamental human rights that provides participants, adults and adolescents alike, with a strong foundation of knowledge and skills with which to improve their lives and generate effective solutions to community problems.

The curriculum begins with human rights learning in a way that is appropriate for the local context, after which participants articulate a shared vision of the future of their community and identify goals to make its realization possible.

These methods draw on modern and traditional African oral techniques, including theater, storytelling, dance, artwork, song, debate, and the sharing of personal experiences.

The CMCs are composed of 17 democratically selected members, at least nine of whom are women, and all receive training from Tostan on how to perform effectively in their positions and on the role participatory decision-making methods can play in their work.

Since 2009, the Jokko Initiative, which teaches participants how to use a mobile phone to send messages, both as a means of communication and as a way of practicing their recently acquired literacy skills, has been integrated into the CEP in all communities with adequate cell coverage.

Tostan considers the use of mobile phones and SMS texting an effective method of accelerating positive social transformation by connecting communities, amplifying the voices of women, youth, and marginalized groups, and providing a platform for the exchange of ideas.

This module expands the CEP's core program to include conflict analysis and prevention, mediation and communication techniques, and the role of women in peace and security.

The Youth Empowerment Program typically takes place in urban areas, where the curriculum of the CEP is adjusted to make it more relevant to young people going through the education system and searching for employment, helping them to develop the skills needed to be successful.

[39] Tostan received an 'Award in Action' by the Cécilia Attias Foundation for Women in 2012, recognizing their work in improving health systems and maternal care at a community level.