Eleventh-grader Bilal Akbar was just trying to research for substantial material for a political journal he’s setting up at school but by the time the 2012 United Nations Climate Change Conference – COP 18/CMP8 ended, he not only participated in this convention’s Youth Day, his insights were also selected by the conference press group for publication online.
While this came as a surprise to the Qatar Academy student, his efforts to be part of the conference were certainly worth the unexpected exposure. “I got involved with COP 18 when I decided to start a political journal for QA and I wanted to base the first issue around the conference,” he says. “I wanted to take full advantage of this unique opportunity where an actual UN gathering was being held across our school. Initially, I applied for accreditation as a member of the press but they placed me in the youth group because I wasn’t an adult yet”.
Bilal used his COP 18 article to shed light on the possible role of students in changing the situation. His article can be viewed online at http://www.cop18.qa/en-us/News/SingleStory.aspx?ID=255
The Peninsula
