At 17, Bibha Shah has already met the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and given him a piece of her mind. She was chosen by MTV to represent the Asia-Pacific at a meeting with Kofi in New York last month, and she drew his attention to the plight of children worldwide and the need for the United Nations to make the world a better place for them.

Bibha was among ten short-listed candidates selected from more than 1,000 Nepali applicants as part of a campaign by UNICEF, MTV and Levi's Speak Your Mind initiative to bring out an Asian Youth Charter. Bibha joined 12 other winners from Asian countries to go to New York for a summit on children where, for the first time, children addressed the United Nations General Assembly to express their concerns about their futures.

Bibha was chosen (along with a Thai winner) to see the Secretary General because she was articulate, confident and outgoing. "When I was selected to represent Nepal and other Asian youth I felt both proud and nervous, it was a big responsibility," recalls Bibha. "I was nervous that I might disappoint the others I was representing." But her nervousness evaporated as soon as she met Kofi. "For a man of his stature, I found him a very down-to-earth person. He put all of us at ease, and he listened to us," Bibha told us on her return to Kathmandu.

Bibha, an idealistic 12th grader from Sanepa, also has a few things she would tell Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba if she got a chance to meet him. And that is? "I'd tell him to try to restore peace to Nepal and I'd tell all politicians to stop playing politics with the future of the students and the country."

Bibha now feels even more confident and determined to make a difference in Nepal. "My horizons have widened. I don't have any specific plans yet, but I think small things make a big difference so if I can change myself and my community, it will add up." Bibha's inspiration is her father, who keeps telling her "if life is tough, you have to be tougher".

Bibha plays volleyball as a hobby and would like to make a career in medicine. But for the immediate future, she already has a pledge: she is going to have a positive outlook on life, and everything she does.