# Neil Laybourn & Jonny Benjamin announced as Fundraising Convention Plenary Speakers

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/04/16/neil-laybourn-jonny-benjamin-announced-as-fundraising-convention-plenary-speakers/
- Published: 2019-04-16T08:00:37+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**The Institute of Fundraising has announced that Neil Laybourn, Founder of This
Can Happen, and mental health campaigner Jonny Benjamin MBE will be the Plenary 
Speakers for July’s Fundraising Convention.**

 

Laybourn (main image: left) and Benjamin (right) will speak on the second day of
[Convention](http://www.fundraisingconvention.uk/), Tuesday 2 July.

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Jonny Benjamin MBE is an award-winning mental health campaigner, film producer, 
public speaker, writer and vlogger. At 20 he was diagnosed with schizoaffective 
disorder and ten years ago met Neil Laybourn when he stopped to talk to Benjamin
who at the time was sitting by Waterloo Bridge contemplating suicide. Talking to
Laybourn persuaded him to take a step back, and his 2014 social media campaign with
Rethink Mental Illness to #FindMike: the man who talked him out of jumping off the
bridge, went viral and led to Benjamin becoming a prominent spokesperson on the 
subject of suicide.

 

He now speaks publicly about living with mental illness and has written articles
and given interviews on TV, radio and in print around the world to help educate 
and break stigma. He has also produced and presented documentaries on BBC Three 
and Channel 4 on the subjects of mental health and suicide.

 

In 2016 Benjamin also launched ThinkWell, a mental health programme for schools,
and in 2017 wrote the first of two books on mental health entitled The Stranger 
On The Bridge.

 

Laybourn was also recognised for his part in the #FindMike campaign, with a Pride
of Britain award in 2014. In 2017 he came up with the idea for This Can Happen –
a mental health conference tackling challenges in the workplace. In the same year
he co-founded the international mental health campaigning organisation [You Alright Mate?](https://youalrightmate.org/home)
to bring business leaders, fellow campaigners and international support organisations
together.

 

Most recently Laybourn co-founded the charity [Beyond Shame Beyond Stigma](https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/beyond-shame-beyond-stigma)
to raise funds for preventative mental health and young people’s mental health solutions
and in July was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Bristol University for work in 
mental health campaigning and advocacy work, alongside Benjamin.

 

Together, the two men have spent the last four years helping organisations from 
schools and universities to large corporates in the UK and across the world tackle
the stigma of mental health and offer support to workers and students facing challenges.

 

More information on the [Convention programme](http://www.fundraisingconvention.uk/full-programme-2019/programme-2019)
is available on the site.

 * **[Greenpeace UK, Action for Children & Charity Checkout among National Fundraising Awards winners](https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/07/02/greenpeace-uk-action-for-children-charity-checkout-among-national-fundraising-awards-winners/)**(
   2 July 2019)
 * **[Applications open for Fundraising Convention 2020 speakers](https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/09/02/applications-open-for-fundraising-convention-2020-speakers/)**(
   2 September 2019)
 * **[Applications now open for Fundraising Convention 2020 volunteers](https://fundraising.co.uk/2020/01/24/applications-now-open-for-fundraising-convention-2020-volunteers/)**(
   24 January 2020)

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