Last month Gef’s 30 Under 30 celebrated the cream of young talent on the island with their annual Winners’ Party.

The awards were handed out to 30 inspiring young people in a range of different categories, including achievement, creativity, community impact, sustainability and leadership.

The glitzy ceremony, hosted by Media Isle of Man and Gef, took place at St Matthew’s Church on June 21, bringing together the winners, the campaign partners, judges and VIPs.

We took the opportunity to ask some of this year’s winners what they would like to see improved or changed to ensure opportunities for other ambitious and talented young people. Here is what they had to say.

Mera Royle

Mera, 24, of Maughold, is a celebrated harpist and composer, winning the BBC Radio 2 Young Musician of the Year in 2018.

‘The island is a brilliant place to be creative and I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t encouraged to be creative when I was younger,’ she said.

‘There are great things in place over here and I’ve had brilliant support from the Isle of Man Arts Council. But the only thing that holds you back is the opportunity to play Manx music in mainstream venues and events.’

Aalin George

Aalin, 28, of Santon, has been an exceptional archer and was the youngest at the senior Commonwealth Games at 14.

‘From my point of view we need some proper archery facilities,’ she said. ‘At the moment, we have to borrow a field in Greeba which is not ideal. It would be amazing to have our own permanent facility we could go to whenever we needed.

‘There is great support for sport in the island generally and I have been lucky to go to random places all over the world. Individual sponsorship is very good, funding overall is fine but there isn’t so much support for more niche sports.’

Anna Clarke-Smith

Anna, 25, of Derbyhaven, serves as an uplands ranger at DEFA, playing a crucial role in restoring and enhancing upland habitats. Through panels and her Instagram, Anna also actively raises awareness about living with diabetes.

‘I think there is a general attitude of people keen to look after the environment on the island,’ she said. ‘We can certainly all work together to protect it without taking the enjoyment away of appreciating it.

‘The uplands are very important and sometimes undervalued in the island, and we want to engage more people in its restoration and preservation and the way we historically manage it. The uplands are a massive resource and very important to the island.’

Callum Davies

Callum, 24, of Crosby, runs Volume Events and is a prominent figure on the island’s entertainment and music scene, co-organising the popular Full Moon Festival, as well as arranging and performing DJ nights across the Isle of Man, with music ranging from house and disco all the way to techno.

Him and his team of Manx DJs are doing a remarkable job keeping the music and dance scene alive and thriving for the younger generation.

‘For me, the biggest challenge is trying to grow my business, and I back plans to grow the island’s population,’ he said. ‘Some people don’t like it.

‘We do have people aged 18-50 liking the type of dance music I play, but it is still rather niche which is restrictive. If we want to keep more of our young people here then we need to ensure there is stuff for them to do and enjoy.’

Emma Sayle

Emma, 26, of Douglas, launched the 'Sustainable Mann' toolkit and currently serves as sustainability officer and 'Green Team' member at Hansard.

‘I want to raise awareness around sustainability on the island,’ she said. ‘We may be a small nation, but doing something is better than nothing. A collaborative effort will make a difference.

‘One of my passions is connecting to nature, which we have an abundance of here and we need to protect it. We are going in the right direction but I want to speed it up.’

Jay Wight

Jay, 29, of Douglas, works as a wellbeing practitioner at Isle Listen, providing crucial one-on-one support in secondary schools.

‘I think pride needs to be thrown out the window when it comes to talking about mental health,’ he said, ‘both among young people and in the community in general.

‘Everyone makes mistakes and we need to talk about that. Mental health is a large issue here. There needs to be early intervention. Government support is there, but it needs to recognise there are other agencies out there who can also help.’