Sarah Young and Adeline Amar have youth on their side in fight against poverty

The pair will be working in their home city, Edinburgh, to highlight the importance of democratic engagement and campaigning to shape the wider world.

A key focus will be about how local campaigning can make a big difference for international issues, and Sarah and Adeline will show the importance of international development and how their community can get involved.

Sarah, 27 said: “We are really excited to begin working as Youth Ambassadors in our local area because we think it is important to end extreme poverty.

“I also want to show people that it can be easy to campaign on these issues, and that their voice does make a difference.”

Adeline, 34, added: “I really look forward to working with schools and our communities to highlight the impact that campaigning has on the wide world. Whether it’s signing a petition for The ONE Campaign or speaking to your MP or MSP about issues that matter to you, anyone can make a difference.”

The Youth Ambassador programme sees hundreds of young volunteers across the UK and Europe working together to raise awareness of the fight against extreme poverty, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

As part of the programme, Sarah and Adeline will be looking to meet with their local MPs, Ian Murray and Deidre Brock, and MSPs Ash Denham and Ruth Davidson. They also want to talk to local community members and travel to the Scottish Parliament to take part in large national events.

As well as promoting the positive impact that UK aid has around the world, they will be campaigning around the G7 meeting of government leaders to ask them to take action on extreme poverty.

Sarah and Adeline will also be working to promote the upcoming replenishment conference Global Fund for Aids, TB and Malaria, an organisation that’s dedicated to fighting killer diseases.

Romilly Greenhill, UK Director of The ONE Campaign, said: “This year’s Youth Ambassadors are amazing. I know with their energy and passion they will change the world for the better.

“There are some big moments coming up this year – especially the G7 summit and the Global Fund – that could really help the fight against extreme poverty. I know that Sarah and Adeline, alongside all the Youth Ambassadors, will be showing people in Edinburgh how important these are.”

This is the sixth year that the Youth Ambassador programme has run in the UK.

Youth Ambassadors have been on lobby days at Parliament and attended the G7 Summit in Germany to call on world leaders to act on extreme poverty.