World summit beckons for former Sacred Heart student

World summit beckons for former Sacred Heart studentInez Murray to attend One Young World summit in BelfastA former Sacred Heart Grammar School pupil is set to enjoy four life changing days of knowledge-sharing and networking as the world’s largest gathering of future leaders takes place in Belfast next month.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.Inez Murray, from Loughbrickland, 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 third-year medical student at Queen’s University Belfast, Inez hopes to play a part in the improvement of healthcare provision in Northern Ireland.A winner of the Rotary Youth Leadership Development Award in 2020, Inez’s passion for progress within the healthcare provision and policy spheres was on display during lockdown when she created a ‘self-care calendar’ alongside Crisis Café NI.This calendar allowed young people to feel connected at times of social isolation and Inez continues her work championing the voices of young people as Chair of Crisis Café’s board of directors and as a policy officer for Pure Mental NI.She is also seeking election to the Northern Ireland Youth Forum Executive and says she is excited to be one of the Education Authority’s delegates for this global summit on her doorstep.“This summit will be electric, with ideas and innovations from young leaders from across the globe,” she says.“I am especially excited for this conference to be hosted so close to home. I’m very proud to be from Northern Ireland and I look forward to showing all that our slice of home has to offer.“My community has given so much to me and I hope to gain skills and experience from this summit that I can apply for the betterment of my community and the wider world.“I hope it will provide a new legacy for Belfast and for a generation of young leaders, a legacy of international co-operation and collaboration.”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 Bríd 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.Despite the high-profile names confirmed to be in attendance, Inez is most excited about meeting other delegates from around the world.She says: “The thing I am most excited about is the opportunity for collaboration. When else will I have the chance to chat with young people from all over the world who are passionate about progressing change.“I hope to learn from the experience of other young people from across the world, to hear their stories and how they have discovered new solutions to old problems.“The commitment to leadership development and youth-led community involvement that is being encouraged by the One Young World global community is inspiring and I am very excited to contribute to emerging conversations on the future of our communities and societies.”For the full list of counsellors at this year’s One Young World Summit in Belfast, and to find out how you can get involved, visit https://www.oneyoungworld.com/summit-2023