The Shankill area of Belfast has declared itself a ‘Children and Young People Zone’ and is on a 20 year journey of change to transform the lives of this generation of its children and young people. Numbering 5968, this is now the third generation, over a 50 year period, impacted by the collapse of Belfast’s industrial base, compounded by large scale Shankill redevelopment and overlaid by the N.Ireland conflict and its legacy, leaving an entrenched educational deficit, high levels of ill-health and economic inactivity in a population of 23,000.

The Zone is a framework, designed and designated by the community, bringing together a ‘coalition of the willing’ committed to releasing and realising the potential of this generation in the Shankill. The central spine of the Zone is built on individual conversations with children and young people around the ‘story’ they want their life to be, jointly designing the pathway to that outcome and then providing sustained support for each child on their journey, one at a time for as long as it takes. This process will lead to a collective outcomes framework effecting the journey of transformation in this generation of children and young people.

Patrick is currently a 1^st year PhD student at the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice, and his research is focused on Universal Basic Income (UBI) and whether it could be used as a tool for conflict transformation in post-conflict societies such as Northern Ireland. He is a graduate in Politics from the University of Sheffield and has experience working in international development and local government. He lives in Downpatrick and also runs his own travel company, Politrip, which offers volunteer abroad opportunities on US political campaigns.

Favourite TED Talk

Poverty isn’t a lack of character, it’s a lack of cash

Describe yourself in three words

Ambitious, outspoken, impatient

Tell us a goal that you have set yourself, that you want to accomplish in the next year

Set up a property investment company

Favourite TED Talk

Too many favourites to choose just one!

Describe yourself in three words

Motivated, determined and resilient

Tell us a goal that you have set yourself, that you want to accomplish in the next year

Give a TED talk!

Favourite TED Talk

The secret of becoming mentally strong

Describe yourself in three words

Fun, passionate and dedicated

Tell us a goal that you have set yourself, that you want to accomplish in the next year

To improve my mental health as much as possible

Challenging our stereotypical view of Narcissism and its more pathological manifestation, research suggests that having certain subclinical types of Narcissism might actually be better than having none at all.

Delfina Bilello was born in Argentina and soon moved to Italy where she grew up. Later, she spent her teenage years in Spain until she decided to move to Belfast in order to pursue further education in 2015. She successfully completed her Psychology Degree at Queen’s University receiving Top BSc Honours Psychology Student Award. After that, she remained in Belfast where she is currently attending the Psychology of Childhood Adversity master’s course.

Whilst her interests have always revolved around child psychopathology, she has recently grown an interest in research around the topics of individual differences and personality and their impact on mental health. Thus, she began exploring the Dark Triad of Personality, namely Psychopathy, Machiavellianism and Narcissism within the InteRRaCt Lab. This emerging field has helped her develop a different perspective on personality, whereby seemingly negative traits can also provide advantages.

Favourite TED Talk

Are you a giver or a taker?

Three words to describe yourself

Creative, Driven and quite Introverted

A goal that you have set yourself, that you want to accomplish next year

For the next year I’m excited to start a PhD focused on Self-Harm and Suicide. This is just part of a broader vision to constantly stepping outside the box and always try new and unconventional routes regardless of how scary these may seem. Starting from my participation in this Ted X talk, despite being quite an introverted person, my goal is to keep working in the field I love and reaching to other people in an effort to raise awareness about issues not often discussed.

John's research focuses on various aspects of democracy: elections, referendums and citizens’ assemblies. He has led numerous academic projects funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and was British Academy Mid-Career Fellow in 2012-13. He was a member of the Expert Advisory Group of the Irish Citizens’ Assembly, 2016-18.

My Favourite TED Talk

The Last Serenade

Describe yourself in three words

Understated, underwhelmed, overpaid

Tell us a goal that you have set yourself, that you want to accomplish in the next year

To scientifically prove that 3-4-3 is the most effective football formation

Father Eugene graduated in Scholastic Philosophy in 1982 and his brother Martin followed three years later in Ancient History, when Father David also qualified in History. Their first album The Priests was recorded in 2008 with the Philharmonic Academy of Rome from St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican and spent 13 weeks at number one. Nominated for the 2009 Classical Album of the Year, it was the fastest debut selling classical album ever. They also topped the charts with their DVD - The Priests, In Concert at Armagh Cathedral - recorded in September 2008.

Favourite TED Talk

Growing Up in a Pornified Culture

Describe yourself in three words

Simplicity. Freedom. Purpose.

Tell us a goal that you have set yourself, that you want to accomplish in the next year

To publish an hour-long podcast with someone from Northern Ireland every Monday morning to show people just how amazing this part of the world is.

Favourite TED Talk

I really love Amy Cuddy’s TED Talk “Your body language may shape who you are”. It’s all about how body language impacts how other people see us, and how standing in a confident posture impacts our brain. It’s related to something I use all the time in my work. If I feel nervous or I’m going to talk in front of a lot of people I do something called “the superman pose”…and my nerves disappear and my confidence sky rockets. Look it up, it works.

Describe yourself in three words

Witty, driven and charismatic (or so I’m told)

Tell us a goal that you have set yourself, that you want to accomplish in the next year

I’m currently working on a few different podcasts. In the next year I want to release at least two of them

Favourite TED Talk

I have two, one by Paddy Johnston, former Vice Chancellor and my friend and colleague who sadly passed away suddenly in 2017  and a second by Francoise Meunier, another friend, colleague and former Director General of the European Organisation for the Research and Treatment of Cancer

Describe yourself in three words

Listener; inspirer; communicator

Tell us a goal that you have set yourself, that you want to accomplish in the next year

Be healthier