'If I could ask the world's leaders to prioritize one thing to help children, it would be education,' said Sanjukta.

The young people were chosen by their peers to represent the Unicef J8. One young person represented each of the G8 countries and non-G8 countries - Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Mexico and South Africa - invited to L'Aquila.

The young people told the leaders they wanted high quality post-primary education for all children and a safe trip to school.

The world leaders, who listened to the J8 representatives keenly Thursday, were told to invest more in renewable energy and collectively sign a meaningful Copenhagen agreement that emphasizes participation of young people in climate change action.

The young people expressed great concern about the impact of the financial crisis on their lives.

'We did not create this crisis, but it will affect us the most and we resent it. We hope the leaders will listen to what we said and act now,' said Emmanuella Louidsor, 17, of United States.

The youngest of the lot, Camilla Grassi, 14, came from host country Italy.