Lisburn delegate to attend One Young World summit in Belfast

The One Young World Summit, which will take place from 2-5 October will bring together delegates from over 190 countries and more than 250 organisations to confront the biggest challenges facing humanity and accelerate social impact.

Matthew Taylor is one of over 2,000 delegates who will attend the summit which will feature a star-studded line up of counsellors including footballing icon Dider Drogba, Rugby World Cup winning captain Francois Pienaar and British-Iranian journalist and author Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

A final year Anthropology and Philosophy student at Queen’s University Belfast, Matthew is passionate about the need for greater mental health education, services and awareness in Northern Ireland’s schools.

In 2019 he co-founded Pure Mental NI, a charity run by young people under the age of 25, whose largest project concerns the development of a bespoke mental health curriculum for all young people, starting at Key Stage One and running right through to A-Level.

Pure Mental NI was selected from a field of 26,000 nominees, as one of six finalists for UK Community Organisation of the Year in February 2022 and in July of that year Matthew received The Diana Award - the UK’s highest accolade a young person achieve for social action or humanitarian efforts.

Matthew is also an advisor for several public bodies in the charity and voluntary sector and holds a place on the mental health committee within the Safeguarding Board of Northern Ireland.

He became of the Education Authority’s One Young World delegation prior to the pandemic in an effort to boost his personal confidence, public speaking skills and further foster his passion for public policy and is eager to meet other delegates and discuss his journey.

“I am looking forward to sharing the story of Pure Mental NI, through giving a delegate speech on the main stage, as well as illustrating my own journey with mental illness and attempt to break down the stigmas so often prevalent in conversations about mental health,” he said.

“By being part of this summit, I hope to have the opportunity to network and engage with world leaders, discuss and debate innovative, creative solutions with fellow delegates and ultimately, enrich my work within Pure Mental NI and my local community.

“Moreover, thanks to the Education Authority for this wonderful opportunity, I will attempt to serve as an advocate for young people in Northern Ireland and the wider work of the voluntary and community sector at large, promoting the essential nature of a youth-centric approach to the design of education and health care services across these islands.”

This year’s One Young World Summit has been recognised by both the City of Belfast and the UK Government as being part of the official functions to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

A number of local political figures with extensive experience of peace building have also been confirmed as counsellors including Lord Alderdice and Monica McWilliams, both signatories of the Good Friday Agreement; Bríd Rodgers; Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and Bertie Ahern, former Irish Taoiseach.