Mid Ulster trio 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.

Adam Willis, Kirsty McCann and Martina Talbot are just three of the 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.

Dungannon man Adam Willis, a former Dungannon Primary School teacher, currently teaches P6 at Hardy Memorial Primary School in Richhill and is currently completing a MEd in Pastoral Care which explores international perspectives on bullying, child protection, digital safeguarding and research methods.

He completed the Education Authority’s Steps into Leadership Programme this year and will be attending the summit as part of the EA’s leadership team.

Kirsty McCann is a youth support worker at the Ógras Centre in Coalisland and Dungannon Youth Resource Centre.

She is also part of a young woman’s group tackling societal issues such as period poverty, mental health and wellbeing.

Coalisland native Martina Talbot is an Area Youth Worker for the Education Authority’s youth service and has a passion for making difference in young people’s lives. With a bachelor’s degree in community youth work, Martina has a wide range of experience in both voluntary and statutory youth services.

All of these young people will be attending the summut as Education Authority delegates.

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.

These include Lord Alderdice and Monica McWilliams, both signatories of the Good Friday Agreement and Brid Rodgers, a former Agriculture Minister in the first Stormont Executive.

Joining them will be Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and Bertie Ahern, former Irish Taoiseach and an architect of the Good Friday Agreement are also confirmed as counsellors at the summit.

Having first applied to take part in the One Young World Summit in 2021, Adam Willis, who has subsequently worked with other delegates in Washington DC and Puerto Rico, cannot wait to embrace this “incredible opportunity”.

“This feels like the start of something truly special and it has been a real privilege to meet on a regular basis with other young people from all walks of life in Northern Ireland who are passionate about seeing positive change achieved in our society after a complex history,” he said.

“As a teacher, I have seen firsthand the benefits of 'shared education' and I count it as a challenging but rewarding responsibility to equip the children in my class with the values, attitudes and skills they need to succeed and make a valuable contribution to the place we call home here in Northern

Ireland.”