"A three day environmental conference was held in Bermuda from May 1 to 3. It was attended by five pioneering young environmentalists from India as representatives of the Panchavati Green Movement.

The students; Yashi Mehta, Manas Agrawal, Kripi Sharma, Sarthak Prakash and Nimish Goswami, were part of a child-driven environmental group which was formed in 1996.

It is the Indian chapter of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which turns children into eco-ambassadors in order to highlight the world's major problems, discuss them with the grown-ups and propose possible solutions through conferences and campaigns.

The conference was held at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute.

The inaugural speech was given by Jack Ward, principal curator at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo. This was followed by the presentations by Joseph Furbert and Dr. Anne Glasspool of the Bermuda Biodiversity Project. They emphasized the need for protection of the endemic and invasive species of Bermuda. Our delegation received a warm welcome.

We delivered a presentation complete with video footage of our campaigns in India.

The main issues included; a fight against illiteracy, spreading of information, fight against terrorism and deforestation.

The conference was attended by students from all across the Island. The PGM ambassadors told them how to start a movement of their own via their constitutional rights as a child. We also answered their queries and dealt with various consolidated interactive age groups.

I emphasized the importance of literacy and how it can be a tool for solving various other problems of the world like unemployment, poverty and over-population.

We also told them about Panchavati; which touches the dormant Indian philosophy of man's spiritual link with the five elements of nature and the necessity to restore them across the world.

This was followed by an interactive cultural session, where all five of us dressed in our cultural outfits. It was commended and liked by all.

We met the Ministers of Environment and Education, who supported and acknowledged our movement. We also went for sightseeing.

We had a lot of fun amidst the biodiversity and enjoyed the Island food. We made many friends and exchanged various gifts which strengthened our cross-cultural bonds. Our hosts, Mrs. Mary Winchell and Mr. Joseph Furbert, were extremely helpful, kind and made our stay in Bermuda a comfortable and a memorable one.

We spent 26 hours travelling to Bermuda, excluding the various stopovers in London, Dubai and New York. We proved that children can make a difference when they band together and make their voices heard."