Foundation of Light hosts ‘Real Talk’ conference tackling Men’s Mental Health

Foundation of Light’s Game of II Halves project brought together more than 200 people for a major conference on the men’s mental health epidemic.

Following the relaunch of the Game of II Halves Conference last year, the 2026 event was titled ‘Real Talk’ as it aimed to deliver a mixture of lived experiences and up to date research on men's wellbeing, suicide, and recovery.

Speeches were delivered by Anthony Hutton, founder of the Never Throw in the Towel project and former winner of Big Brother, James Fildes, founder of peer-to-peer support group Space North East, and Paul Galdas, a professor of Men’s Health and advisor to the Department of Health and Social Care.

“It was an unbelievable event,” commented speaker Anthony Hutton.

“I speak full-time now, and I can honestly say this is probably the best set-up I’ve seen. The other two speakers were absolutely fantastic.

“Men’s mental health and suicide is a huge problem, and events like this are a great way to try and challenge that.

“The North East has ranked for years as the worst region in the UK for suicide. It’s full of amazing people, salt of the earth people, but these issues are still present.

“Today’s event and the Game of II Halves project, especially with the link to football, can enable people to spread an important message to the people who need to hear it most.”

Following the presentations, the speakers joined Game of II Halves Delivery Officer Steve Brindley for a question and answer panel.

On the event, Steve added: “There was a good response from the audience with everything that was delivered this afternoon.

“There were some good questions, I’ve had some good immediate feedback, and I think we’re achieving what we hoped we’d be delivering.

“I think, certainly the first two speakers in James and Anthony, they normalised those difficult conversations.

“Our final speaker Paul, with his involvement in the 10-year health strategy with the government, I felt he gave us a moment of current messaging.

“It was almost as if the three of them had discussed what they were going to talk about, it came together really nicely. That wasn’t the case, they all came as individuals, but there was so much alignment in messaging throughout.”

Game of II Halves targets men aged 16 and over in Sunderland, offering them skills, confidence, and knowledge needed to lead mentally resilient lives. 

To find out more about the programme, or to sign up, click here: Game of II Halves