(Top) Barsa and Rishabh

Patna, Oct. 7: Two youth delegates from the state, Barsa and Rishabh Singh, took part in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recently held in Bandung, Indonesia.

The five-day UN summit, which began on September 27, focussed on sustainable development and green economy.

Barsa told The Telegraph: “Being a feminist, I always try to connect the solution to every problem the world faces today with women’s empowerment. Recently, I undertook a research project on ‘Women and Climate Change’, which emphasised on the fact that women are 17 times more vulnerable to climatic changes than men.”

The research project was not only confined here but its glimpses were showcased in Indonesia too. Barsa spoke on “Women and Climate Change” at the Asia-Pacific meeting held in Indonesia and at the same time, she tried to convey to the global climate leaders to include women in the main periphery of climate debate in their respective countries.

Barsa, being one of the only two girls from the country and the only one from Bihar to participate in such an event, conveyed that women were quite active in environment-related activities.

Barsa added: “It was quite inspiring to see young leaders very active and passionate about the environment and setting examples for the world.” The Bandung Declaration was the best part of the five-day event according to Barsa.

Rishabh, a Class XII student of DAV, BSEB, also visited Indonesia and met UNEP goodwill ambassador Yann Arthus Bertrand. Rishabh said: “Meeting Bertrand, the world’s best photographer, the first thing that struck me was that he was very accessible and quite simple. All of us were working for protecting the environment.”

Rishabh asked the UN under secretary general: “How could we actually convert the CEO of a company from being the chief executive officer to the chief environmental officer.” The poser received loud applause.