Mission

1. To be an open forum for reasoned and informed debate in order to contribute to building an open, democratic, inclusive, equitable, just, peaceful and prosperous Nepal;
2. To help create a more critically aware and better informed citizenry who will contribute to the development of Nepal;
3. To make academia, media and social activism more inclusive and representative of Nepali society; and
4. To work with socially diverse individuals and institutions in pursuit of the above goals.

Objectives

The overall objectives of the ASD is to promote dialogue within Nepal on a variety of issues as reflected in its vision statement. In particular, ASD

1. Facilitates social dialogue as a means of promoting greater public participation in social and political affairs;
2. Organises orientation programmes, workshops, conferences and informal discussions on issues of education, human rights, media and political transition, and publishes policy documents on the same;
3. Creates a platform to facilitate policy debates on contemporary issues facing Nepali society;
4. Supports innovative local initiatives through different levels of networking and alliance building;
5. Encourages democratic actors, civil society and the media to take an active role in strengthening an open society; and
6. Facilitates grant-making by OSF in Nepal with respect to specific projects and initiatives by providing analysis, guidance, and recommendations with respect thereto.