While Prince Harry was in New York with his wife Meghan Markle for the Time100 Summit, he made a surprise visit to talk tech with a group of young leaders and funders working towards a “safer, more inclusive, digital future”.
The Duke of Sussex, 40, participated in the Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund (RTYPF) Convening in Brooklyn on Thursday, April 24, TechCrunch reports. He and Meghan have helped fund the RTYPF through their Archwell Foundation, and the Duke of Sussex said he has a vested interest in the work of each contributor.
Speaking at the meetup, he said: “You have the knowledge and the skillset and the confidence and the bravery and the courage to be able to stand up to these things” and said that we all have a “responsibility” to prioritise safety over profits.
Online safety was a theme of Prince Harry and Meghan’s New York City trip, where Meghan also spoke on stage at the TIME100 Summit about her new business ventures. During their visit, the couple unveiled The Lost Screen Memorial, an installation which consisted of 50 smartphones, each displaying the lock screen photo of a child whose life was cut short, stemming from the harmful effects of social media.
The personal images were shared by parents, who are members of the Archewell Foundation Parents’ Network.
At the event, Meghan Markle said: “These are families that we have been working with for several years. No matter how polarised the world is, or what people may or may not agree on, one thing that we can all agree on is that our children should be safe.
“All of our children should be safe, and I think tonight, all of these stories solidify that.”
Harry added that no child “should be exploited, groomed, or preyed upon in digital spaces”. A virtual version of the memorial included stories about each child, with some of the parents recording a personal voice message for people to listen to.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also spoke about what advice they could give about social media and usage.
They responded: “The easiest thing to say is, ‘keep your kids away from social media’. The sad reality is that the kids who aren’t on social media normally get bullied at school because they can’t be part of the same conversations as everybody else.”
Harry continued: “Life is better off of social media. I say that as a parent, and I say that as someone who’s spoken to many of the kids here tonight who lost a brother or a sister to social media. But clearly, enough is not enough. Enough is not being done.”
It comes after the couple spoke to CBS News last summer of their fears about their children, son Archie and daughter Lilibet, being exposed to harmful content online when they grow older.