Fionn Crombie Angus to Speak at United Nations this World Down Syndrome Day

Down Syndrome Ireland Board Member Fionn Crombie Angus is set to speak at the United Nations this World Down Syndrome Day. 

Fionn will speak at the United Nations in New York City on March 21st. He’s one of a small group of people with Down syndrome around the world invited to present, focusing on the topics of Improving Support Systems and Self-Directed Support.  

Speaking about the upcoming event, Fionn said, ‘I’m really happy. I’ve given a lot of talks at universities and international conferences previously … but I consider this invitation my highest honour’. 

He added, ‘When I left secondary school, the options offered (Day Services) didn’t provide enough choice, or support my goals. So I asked for the money that would have gone to the service provider. I was the first with Down syndrome to do this. Ten years later, I’ve learned a lot about self-directed supports, and I believe everyone with Down syndrome should have this option, across Ireland and around the world’. 

Some of Fionn’s other achievements to date include, serving on five Irish Government committees, guest lecturing in multiple colleges, interning in Brussels with a disability rights NGO, completing an internship with Harvard Law School, playing the fiddle deep in the Amazon Rainforest and interviewing 700 people for his Happiness Project, including President Michael D. Higgins and Cillian Murphy. 

Fionn also serves as a board member of Down Syndrome Ireland, having joined in 2023. He hopes more people with Down syndrome will follow in his footsteps and aspires to help create new programs to support them. 

Speaking to the UN this World Down Syndrome Day is an incredible opportunity, with Fionn stating that it is ‘the best day of the year for people with Down syndrome to begin their self-advocacy, or to graduate from self-advocacy to community advocacy’.  

Click here to watch Fionn speak live at the UN this World Down Syndrome Day.