NEW YORK ― Prince Harry opened the first panel at Project Healthy Mind’s fourth annual World Mental Health Day Festival with rousing remarks calling out a “few powerful actors.”
“Mental health is shaped by public health, foreign policy, climate policy, corporate design and economic choices,” the royal told the room as his wife, Meghan Markle, sat in the front row. “Too often, decisions made by a few powerful actors ripple across the planet into every aspect of our lives.”
“We’ve worked with and listened to parents who’ve lost their children to online harm. Afghan women who’ve rebuilt their lives far from home,” Harry shared.
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“Communities healing from unthinkable tragedy. Young people learning to navigate a digital world that wasn’t designed with their well-being in mind. This is what we’ve discovered ― maintaining good mental health isn’t just an individual challenge. It is a community responsibility.”
“Approached this way, everybody wins. That’s what today is about,” the Duke of Sussex said as he introduced the first panel of the day, called “Thriving or Surviving: How Are Young People Doing in the Digital Age?”
Just after the first panel finished, Meghan took to the stage to introduce the second session of the day. The panel featured author and professor Jonathan Haidt, known for “The Anxious Generation,” moderator Katie Couric, and two parents advocating for urgent social media reform after seeing its deadly impact on their children’s lives.
“The conversation that you’re about to hear will help us better understand the scale of what we’re facing, and more importantly, what we can do about it,” the Duchess of Sussex said.
“Because while the research is sobering, the solutions, as we’ve seen firsthand in the past few years with these very brave and resilient parents, are within reach, especially when parents, advocates and communities all come together,” she added.
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While the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not participate in the panels themselves as they have in the past, the two stayed after sessions to speak with parents they work with through their foundation, as well as interact with audience members. Harry also later attended an afternoon panel, mostly undetected by others in the crowd.
On Thursday night, Harry and Meghan also attended the Project Healthy Minds Gala, where they were honored as Humanitarians of the Year. Meghan issued a collective call to action to the audience as the two accepted their award.
“We know that when parents come together, when communities unite, waves are made. We’ve seen it happen,” the royal said. “We’re watching it grow. And with your support, we’ll continue building a safer digital world for all our children.”
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