Prince Harry’s Heartfelt Tribute to Activists in N.Y.C.: ‘My Mom Would Be Incredibly Proud of You’

Multiple parts of Prince Harry’s most recent New York City visit pay tribute to his mother, Princess Diana — perhaps none more obvious than his engagement with recipients of The Diana Award, the only award named in his late mother’s honor.

On Sept. 23, Prince Harry spoke on a panel with Dr. Tessy Ojo, CEO of The Diana Award, and two award recipients, Chiara Riyanti Hutapea Zhang, 18, of Indonesia, and Christina Williams, 27, of Jamaica. The Duke of Sussex, 40, posed questions to the two on stage alongside Ojo on Monday, at one point telling them, “I applaud you for certainly, [at] your age, to be on this stage, to have the confidence that you do, and to be able to speak as clearly and as passionately as you do. And I know that my mum would be incredibly proud of you guys — not just you, but all of the award winners.”

Diana died at just 36 years old following an Aug. 31, 1997 car accident. Harry, for his part, was just 12 years old when he lost his mother. The Diana Award was established in 1999, two years after the late Princess of Wales’ death, and is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

Harry made sure the young people took center stage at the Concordia Annual Summit in New York City, part of The Diana Award’s “Decade of Youth Wellbeing.” According to a release from The Diana Award, the initiative is a “bold, ambitious and collaborative plan to harness the power [of] young people, like Christina and Chiara, to lead positive change.”

“There is reason to have hope,” Ojo said in the statement. “When empowered and given the tools to unlock their potential, we know young people can lead the positive change the world needs. On our 25th anniversary, this event gives us the platform to share our insights and launch our ambitious plan for the next decade.”

The Diana Award was founded on Princess Diana’s belief that young people have the power to change the world, and the charity exists to empower young people to make positive change by unlocking potential, creating opportunities and inspiring action. Its work centers around four key programs — a mentoring program for young people at risk; a youth-led anti-bullying ambassadors campaign; a collaborative Changemakers program that aims to reimagine mental health support for young people from racialized communities; and a prestigious award that publicly recognizes young changemakers — The Diana Award.

Two award recipients were spotlighted on Sept. 23, including Zhang, who, at just 11 years old, founded Cases 4 Care Indonesia after learning about the human rights violations at Southeast Asia’s biggest landfill site. According to The Diana Award, Cases 4 Care Indonesia has provided 1,000 children with an informal education by furnishing five libraries with 1,500 books and expanded its reach last year to refugee communities. She currently lives in New York City.

Williams’ work was also illuminated. Like Zhang, she began her advocacy work at age 11, and her achievements include having successfully lobbied for student access to health insurance island-wide in her home country of Jamaica, reducing student deregistration by 99% and starting an emergency fund to support disadvantaged students. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Williams fundraised millions of Jamaican dollars in supplies to support homeless students and those unable to leave their campuses due to closed borders, according to The Diana Award.

Williams is a winner of The Diana Legacy Award, which celebrates the achievements of the 20 most outstanding Diana Award recipients from the previous two years who have changed the world.

After Zhang and Williams answered a number of questions, Harry spoke about how the younger generation inspired him: “The reason why I wanted to go last is because these guys are the ones that give me hope,” he said. “I’ve said it years ago and I’ll say it again — the younger generation are, not putting too much pressure on you guys, you are what give me hope. The courage that you have gives me hope, because every single one of us need courage in order to really move the dial and create positive change in today’s world, probably more so now than ever.”

He continued, “So thank you to you guys for giving me and probably a whole lot of people in this room hope, and now we need to listen — constantly listen — and then act on the advice and the vision that you have, because otherwise it’s your future that’s being stolen from you, and that is unacceptable.”

The Diana Award has the support of both of her sons — both Prince Harry and his brother, Prince William. The organization is dedicated to empowering young people to create change, and both William and Harry attended its Legacy Award event in London in March (William in person, and Harry virtually).

“It’s a privilege to have the support of both the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex, particularly as we mark our 25th anniversary year,” Ojo previously told PEOPLE.

The Diana Award engagement is one of the first of many stops for Harry as he spends time in New York City. He will take part in work surrounding African Parks, Travalyst and the Clinton Global Initiative, and will continue to honor his mother Princess Diana later on Sept. 23 as he undertakes an engagement with The HALO Trust, a humanitarian group at work in over 30 countries and territories around the world to clear landmines and debris of war. The organization gained international attention when the late Princess of Wales walked through an active landmine in Huambo, Angola, in 1997 to call for an international ban. (Prince Harry recreated the same walk years later.)

The HALO Trust noted that “countless thousands of lives have been saved by the 1997 global landmine ban” that followed Diana’s visit, and Harry continues to stay active in the organization to the present day.

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Prince Harry is visiting New York City to “advance a number of his patronages and philanthropic activities,” a spokesperson said when the visit was announced, adding he would also “be furthering the work of The Archewell Foundation, the nonprofit organization he co-founded with his wife Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex.”

Meghan Markle, 43, did not join her husband for this trip to New York City.