Direct action
Helped by 26-year-old Faraz Yousufzai, an experienced campaigner on local issues who believes passionately in local democracy, they cut through what Yousufzai calls the "smoke screen" of consultation events.
"In my experience, youth forums teach you to be apathetic," he says.
"People arrive full of energy, and yes, it's very glamorous, sitting in beautiful surroundings with a satellite link-up to a youth council in South Africa. But it's easy to get caught up in that."
Instead, Young Citizens took its complaints directly to the people in charge. In February, the group challenged the city council's chief education officer, the head of environmental services and a police inspector to publicly commit to addressing specific concerns.
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