The Youth Initiative for Democracy in Zimbabwe Trust (YIDEZ) is a Zimbabwean youth organisation which aims to empower young people. It was founded in 2006, motivated by the idea that young people are the custodians of good governance and democracy in any society, and that their full participation can help transform their communities into peaceful and free spaces. It seeks to develop the skills of young people so that they can help Zimbabwe develop as a democratic country where everyone participates in the political and economic development of the nation.

YIDEZ works with young people to enhance their contribution to a peaceful and democratic Zimbabwe. Image credit: YIDEZ

To date, YIDEZ has centres in 8 out of 10 provinces of Zimbabwe. The organisation works with young people aged between 18 and 35. Its vision is to see a sustainable culture of democracy and good governance take root in Zimbabwe, such that divergent views and interests coexist in a manner that reinforces equality and the common good.

Among YIDEZ's wide range of aims and objectives is the drive to mobilise and enhance young people's contributions to formal and informal socio-political participation processes - as citizens and as young people. YIDEZ also aims to create unique and alternative processes that will nurture a society that uphold the fundamentals of democracy, through linking student movements with those out of school and the unemployed. It is working to develop a rural and urban activist youth base, raising awareness among young people of the issues affecting them as sources of conflict and the role they can play in transforming them. The organisation seeks to ensure that any action taken is nonviolent, community based, youth driven and supportive of the building of sustainable peace.