The Insurance Institute of Ipswich, Suffolk & North Essex Prize winner's Ceremony
The Insurance Institute of Ipswich, Suffolk & North Essex is holding our annual special event on Thursday 26th March 2026 at the Ipswich Town Football Club (Sir Bobby Robson Suite situated on the 1st floor in the South Stand), to celebrate the success of our members that have excelled in the CII and PFS examinations during 2025.
This event is open to all members and is a wonderful opportunity to come together to celebrate the successes of our fellow members, listen to our amazing guest speaker and enjoy a complimentary lunch.
This event is always very popular and we are looking forward to welcoming this year's keynote speaker, Dylan Holloway, musically known as Dylan And The Moon, an award-winning transgender artist, global speaker, and BBC music show winner, to talk to us.
Guests should arrive by 12 midday for a welcome from our President, Yasmin Van Der Veen, which will be followed by a delicious buffet before we settle down for our keynote speaker.
Following this there will be a personal gift presentation to the students where professional photos will be taken.
If you would like to join us, please register to book your place now!
Jonny Benjamin and Neil Laybourn
In 2008 Neil walked past Jonny Benjamin, sitting by the bridge, contemplating taking his own life. He stopped to talk to him and persuaded him to take a step back. The pair then went their separate ways. In 2014, 6 years later, Jonny launched a high profile social media search, with Rethink Mental Illness dubbed the #FindMike campaign, this became a global news campaign that reached over 300 million people around the world, helping Jonny find the man who talked him out of jumping off a bridge, when he was suicidal. This emotional meeting went viral, reuniting the pair for the first time since it happened. After the pair met, Neil was deeply affected and became an ambassador for the national mental health charities ‘Rethink Mental Illness’ and ‘Mental Health UK’, helping them address mental health and suicide prevention awareness. In 2014 Neil was recognised with a Pride of Britain award for his part in the #FindMike campaign and the following year Channel 4 told their amazing story in the award-winning ‘Stranger on the Bridge’ documentary. Jonny spent 2017 writing the first of 2 books on mental health that was published in May 2018. His second book, currently titled The Book Of Hope, will be a collection of quotes, poems and stories by himself and others to inspire recovery and hope. It will be published in 2020. In July 2018, the University of Bristol awarded Neil and Jonny honorary doctorates in recognition of their exceptional work as mental health campaigners. This year the pair will launch their new mental health charity, Beyond Shame Beyond Stigma. ‘Beyond Shame Beyond Stigma’ is a grant-giving organisation which aims to provide mental health support to young people, their families and teachers. The pair has spent the last 4 years helping organisations from schools and universities to large corporates and everybody in-between in the UK and across the world, to eradicate the stigma of mental health and offer real support to workers facing challenges.
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