Facilitated by a UNESCO expert in regional youth programming, Dr Sue Vize, this session aimed at deconstructing the language and terms used by development practitioners and what the significance and risks of such terms are. It focused on youth empowerment specifically, aiming to create a clear distinction between superficial efforts and those that actually do empower particular groups. Barriers were also be discussed, as well as key concepts such as “tokenism”.

The desired outcome of the session was that participants are aware of the language they use and begin to reflect on these terms, their significance and how they can improve their approach.