The Association of Youth for Peace and Development (AYOPAD) is an advocacy NGO registered with Yobe State. AYOPAD's major focus is fostering in young people an understanding of concepts surrounding peacebuilding issues. AYOPAD organises training programmes for young people to promote participation in the prevention of conflict and in the democratisation process in Nigeria.

The thematic ares that AYOPAD focuses on:

• Leadership
• Peacebuilding
• Democracy and Good governance
• Human rights protection
• Gender issues

1. To organise and facilitate projects that develop the potential of young people.
2. To develop and promote peaceful co-existence through humanitarian work that promotes peace building and democratisation through civil society.
3. To equip young people with 21^st century leadership and life skills for a purposeful and productive life.

Ongoing and recent programmes

AYOPAD is currently implementing DESPLAY SEASON 10: Democracy Series for Participatory Learning and Action by Youth, with the aim of deepening young people's understanding of democracy with a view to encourage active participation in related issues. It has had participants from Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, and Kenya.

AYOPAD's successes:

• Increasing numbers of volunteers engaged in carrying out investigation, documentation, and reporting of incident cases of human rights violations in Yobe State.
• Successfully working on the registration of forced internally displaced persons and returnees in insurgency-affected areas in the north east.
• Establishing a partnership with BBC Media action under its life line communication programme, to help communities and relief providers with information through a two way communication mechanism.