Eco-friendly: Sixteen-year-old Harry Brooks is a founding member of the school Eco team and passionate about community sustainability.
A TEAM of young people putting their ideas forward at the next G8 Summit in Japan will include a special envoy from Barry.
Sixteen-year-old Harry Brooks - a pupil at Howells School in Cardiff - will be part of a team of four youngsters chosen by leading children's organisation, Unicef, to represent the UK at a young person's version of the G8 in Japan this summer (July 2 to 9).
Nearly 200 youngsters took part in the J8 competition to win the chance to represent their country at the same time as the G8 Summit takes place.
Year 12 pupil Harry, of The Parade, Barry, who is on the school's Eco Council, helped his team - Vision of Hope - to success with an essay on Climate Change - but initially didn't realise the enormity of their victory.
"I phoned my favourite teacher first and then rang my mum which is a bit wrong," said Harry, a member of the School Debating Society.
"It was our own initiative.
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"Our opinions aren't really heard, so it's nice to be heard as a group of teenagers who don't fit the stereotype."
The competition provides young people from G8 nations - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, UK and the United States - with a platform to voice their concerns about global issues.
The winning teams from G8 countries will get the opportunity to present their own global communiqué at the G8 Summit, appealing to world leaders to listen to the views of young people.
Harry, a Senior Prefect and the school's Rotary Treasurer, whose ambition is to study History and Economics and eventually work in the City of London, said his grandparents were particularly excited about his upcoming trip to Hokkaido, in Japan.
"It's absolutely massive," he added.
"I am looking forward to meeting children from other parts of the world and it will be great to learn if they have the same ideas and problems as we do.
"I spoke to the team from the J8 last year and they said they actually listened.
"I just want to get us on the map."
The team will write a communiqué of global proposals concerning the G8 topics - the global economy, poverty and development, the impact of infectious diseases and; the environment and climate change - that will be given to the world leaders to persuade them to listen to young people's views.
Teams entered the J8 competition, now in its fourth year, by submitting ideas about how to tackle global problems such as climate change and poverty.
A judging panel of experts chose Vision of Hope because they demonstrated excellent teamwork, creativity and enthusiasm.
The team had solicited input for their entry from young people not just in their school but from across the country, and their ideas included encouraging people to buy animals, food and water for people in developing countries instead of Christmas cards and Easter eggs each year.
They also proposed establishing tighter rules on carbon emissions from cars.
Harry's team mates at the summit are 16-year-old Jasper Warner and 17-year-olds Rose Stuart and Hannah Coakley.
For details about the J8 Summit visit www.j8summit.com
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