Prince Harry began his solo visit to New York City on Monday, September 23, with an appearance at the 14th Concordia Global Summit. The Prince took part in a session where he paid tribute to the "army of activists" in the audience and suggested an alternate phrase to use in place of "mental health."
The Duke of Sussex spoke alongside the CEO of The Diana Award, Dr. Tessy Ojo, CBE, in a session called "The Global Mental Health Crisis Among Young People." The Diana Award is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2024, and aims to nurture future leaders, using the late Princess Diana as inspiration.
While introducing the Prince, Dr. Ojo said (via The Telegraph), "He actually said to me, as we came in, that actually, we should no longer talk about mental health, we should talk about mental fitness." She continued, "His dedication to this cause strengthens our mission."
Prince Harry spoke at length about the importance of activism at the event.
"Surely one of the solutions here is for governments to implement, or at least find people—young people like yourselves—and bring them into decision making, policy-making situations, before the problems exist," the Duke of Sussex told the crowd.
He continued, "We’re very good at creating problems for ourselves to try and solve, but surely by bringing young people in at the early stages... surely that is where the difference is going to be made?" The Prince then asked, "Why is that not happening?"
Harry also used the event to pay tribute to the winners of The Diana Legacy Award: Christina Williams from Jamaica and Chiara Riyanti Hutapea Zhang from Indonesia.
"I applaud you, certainly at your age, to be on this stage, to have the confidence that you do and to be able to speak as clearly and as passionately as you do," he told the award winners.
Prince Harry also referenced his late mother Princess Diana, saying, "I know that my mom would be incredibly proud of you guys... the way that you do it, your activism, your compassion, those two things are so true to how my mom led her life and what she believed in."
