The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be honoured with a Humanitarians of the Year award next month.
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan will accept the accolade from Project Healthy Minds at the organisation’s World Mental Health Day Gala on 9 October in New York City, which they will receive in recognition of their work to make the online world safer for families and young people, People magazine reports.
They are also being honoured for their attempts to advance mental wellbeing around the world through their non-profit Archewell Foundation and The Parents Network, which they launched in 2023 to support families impacted by online harm.
Harry and Meghan – who have Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four, together – said in a statement: “Working with families and young people to prioritize safety online has been some of the most meaningful work of our lives.
“As parents ourselves, we have been moved to action by the power of their stories and are honoured to support them. We’re proud to be long-time partners of Project Healthy Minds as we work together to shine a light on what remains one of the most pressing issues of our time.”
During their trip to New York, the couple will also attend Project Healthy Minds’ World Mental Health Day Festival on 10 October, where the organisation will team up with the Archewell Foundation to co-produce a series of conversations with those making a difference in the mental health sphere.
The Lost Screen Memorial, which the Archwell Foundation unveiled in New York in April, will also be displayed at the festival.
During the memorial’s unveiling, Harry and Meghan called for more action to protect children from the dangers of social media.
Harry told BBC Breakfast: “We want to make sure that things are changed so that… no more kids are lost to social media.
“Life is better off social media.
“The easiest thing to say is to keep your kids away from social media.
“The sad reality is the kids who aren’t on social media normally get bullied at school because they can’t be part of the same conversation as everybody else.”
The Lost Screen Memorial features 50 lightboxes, which are designed to look like smartphones.
Each one features a photograph of a child whose life was cut short due to “harms of social media”.
Last year, Harry, 41, told how he feared children exposed to Internet “rabbit holes” could end up taking their lives “within 24 hours” of viewing harmful material.
He told CBS: “We always talk about in the olden days, if kids are under your roof, you know what they are up to. At least they’re safe.
“But now, they could in the next room, in a tablet or phone, going down these rabbit holes, and within 24 hours they could be taking their life.”
