On Monday 19th May, Wallingford School Peer Supporters had the opportunity to attend the Merchant Taylors’ Company Wellbeing Conference in London. This year’s theme focussed on safe spaces and belonging with an emphasis on student voice and wellbeing.

After a warm welcome with hot beverages and pastries, we sat down amongst many other MTC affiliated school students and had the chance to discuss the theme of ‘Belonging’. To kick start the conference, we had an inspiring and interactive talk given by the award-winning poet and LGBT+ activist – Dean Atta. He highlighted the importance of raising awareness for diversity as he shared anecdotes of his younger self growing-up in London, and struggling to find his identity due to being torn between his Greek Cypriot and Caribbean descent.

The second speaker was Seema Flower, an internationally acclaimed disabilities and visual awareness expert, renowned for the foundership of Blind Ambition. Through her powerful and moving talk, she expressed and demonstrated the importance of new technologies supporting individuals with visual impairments. An example of this was the app 'Be My Eyes' which allows visually impaired individuals to access a FaceTime call in which another individual can assist them by describing their surroundings, informing them of what is in their fridge and the expiry dates of food.

During the afternoon session, we attended workshops led by students from other MTC schools. Wolverhampton Grammar School shared their work on ‘Diversity Champions’ and how they listen to and celebrate students within their school. St. Helen’s School discussed the complex challenges faced by historic institutions as they critically examine their artefacts linked to colonialism and slavery. Merchant Taylors’ School, Northwood, presented on the ‘Affinity Theory’ and how we form connections with individuals sharing similar characteristics to ourselves.

Overall, the Merchant Taylors’ Company Wellbeing Conference was a unique and thought-provoking experience, which gave us the opportunity to develop our understanding on ‘Diversity’ and ‘Belonging’ through student-led workshops and engaging talks from guest speakers.