It’s not uncommon to hear governments, the United Nations and NGOs talk about the need to “empower the youth” and put them at the centre of development thinking, but how much power over decision making in these bodies do young activists really have?

To some, it will still feel like much of the talk about engaging young people is tokenistic, rather than a real strategy for achieving strong development outcomes in challenging places.

Yet as the UK’s Department for International Development’s youth agenda points out, more than 600 million young people live in fragile or conflict afflicted areas. Of those affected by the Syria crisis, for example, at least 25% are aged 10-24. Globally, young people represent a large, often idealistic, group that if fully mobilised could accelerate the pace of development dramatically.