London man wins trip to space at One Young World conference

BANGKOK, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- A British man was awarded the chance to travel to space in 2018 as the winner of One Young World's Rising Star award.

Hussain Manawer, 24, received the award at the annual One Young World conference and will travel between Earth's atmosphere and space in 2018.

Manawer expressed his gratitude for being chosen in a Facebook post.

"I used to work in primark stacking shoes, Sanisburys pushing trolleys, a degree I have no idea about," he wrote. "And now I am the first ever British Muslim, the toughest British person and the first ever Pakistani in history to venture beyond the stars and into the Galaxy."

Manawer was chosen over 90 other entrants for his video, which featured him discussing his charity work and the world's struggles with mental illness.

One judge, Gina Nelthorpe-Cowne, attributed the victory to his "raw talent and passion".

He displayed these traits once again when he delivered his acceptance speech at the conference in Thailand where he touched on race, gender inequality and a number of other subjects.

"My name is Hussain, my problem is I care too much," he repeated throughout the speech.

In addition to his trip to space, Hussain was presented his award by NASA astronaut Ron Garan.