With some 1.8 billion people between the ages of 10 and 24 around the globe, young people have a “key role” to play in forging lasting peace agreements, according to UN Youth Envoy, Jayathma Wickramanayake.

They’re important to maintaining peace and security in communities, and to “building social cohesion”, she explained in an interview with UN News. She began by explaining to Liz Scaffidi how the youth, peace and security agenda has evolved.

This post was originally published on UN News.