It's the end of the year as we know it...
...and we feel fine. It's fair to say we've had a very busy year here at the Young Mayor's office with one thing and another. We've been very lucky to have had Kieza serving as Young Mayor and bringing a wide range of new approaches to the role and now we're looking forward to starting some exciting new work with our 8th Young Mayor and Deputy Young Mayor.
But it seems logical to go back to the start of 2011 before we talk about the future. In January we took Jacob's budget proposals to Mayor and Cabinet where his ideas to promote local role models and positive stories about young people, help young people learn new skills and strengthen community links with the Positive Ageing Board and other groups were agreed. January also saw Kieza and Jawan officially sworn in as Young Mayor and Deputy Young Mayor of Lewisham and the start of their budget consultations working with young people with disabilities at Pendragon School, Brent Knoll School, Greenvale School and Rockbourne Youth Club.
Kieza and Jawan after their inauguration, January 2011
Throughout February and March the YCP and Young Mayor's team worked closely with several local organisations to run a big event at Catford Civic Suite to celebrate the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. During the day there were motivational speakers, musicians, dancers and a wide range of different presentations all set to inspire women across Lewisham both young and old. Following the success of this event Kieza set aside some of his budget to ensure a similar event will happen in 2012.
International Women's Week, March 2011
In 2011 the Young Mayor and YCP did a lot of international work as well as seeing one of our staff leave to pursue a career on the continent. In May our first Youth In Action saw some Young Advisors and members of the Mayor's NEET Programme went to Bulgaria to do a series of workshops on identity with our partner group in Sofia. Everyone who took part learnt a lot about each other and themselves and it was a fitting send off to Liam Webber who has now settled in Bulgaria after several years working with the Young Advisors and YCP in a variety of roles.
Bulgaria, May 2011
June saw the beginning of our election awareness campaign with a series of assemblies across schools in Lewisham which continued into July and September. As a result of these assemblies we had 18 candidates for the 2011/12 Young Mayor elections from several different schools in the borough. We also managed to recruit more young people to the YCP as we endeavoured to reach every school in thr borough and involve more young people in making important decisions. It's fair to say this hasn't been our best year for participation in the YCP and we hope that over 2012 we can bring more people into the YCP fold.
As well as the annual excitement that surrounds Lewisham People's Day, July brought visitors from Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Germany for a series of workshops on peer leadership. Over the week the groups took part in politics workshops, got a chance to create their own Youth In Action projects and saw a lot of London. We're sure we'll be working together again in the future. The YCP held a really worthwhile and informative event looking at bullying with representatives from the Metropolitan Police and Youth Offending Service. A lot of good things were said that day, let's hope we're all still acting on them.
Groups from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany and Lewisham at Westminster Abbey, July 2011
August began on something of a sour note with widespread rioting and looting across the UK. On the 10th of August the YCP held arguably it's best attended event ever where young people, councillors and the Mayor Sir Steve Bullock all talking at length about why they thought the disturbances happened and what the community could do to recover. BBC's Panorama filmed the event and also interviewed Kieza and Jacob. Strange how they only managed to fit in thirty seconds of Jacob's interview in the end...On a far more positive note we had a very succesful Young Mayor's sports day at Catford Power League with a well attended five-a-side football tournament and an intergenerational cricket match between young people and council workers. I'd like to point out the council workers won but only due to a suspect addition of Young Advisors into their team...
Jacob and Kieza outside YCP, August 2011
Much of September was spent visiting schools and colleges across Lewisham to spread the word about the upcoming Young Mayor elections ahead of Candidate Training Day but there were also some follow up events regarding the summer riots. Some Young Advisors appeared on Reprezent Radio to discuss the impact of the summer on young people in South London. Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Shadow Justice Secretary Sadiq Khan visited Lewisham and spoke to Jacob, Kieza and Dami.
Dami, Jacob and Kieza with Yvette Cooper MP and Sadiq Khan MP, September 2011
October began with our traditional YCP Young Mayor hustings where the candidates had an opportunity to get advice from Young Advisors before the elections. On the 13th of October Kieran Lang was announced as the new Young Mayor of Lewisham with Chezney Speed-Skyers elected as Deputy Young Mayor. Valence Festus and Humza Raja were elected as Lewisham's UK Youth Parliament Representatives. Within a week of being elected Kieran and Chezney attended their first formal event at the Stephen Lawrence Centre where they heard a wide range of experts including former Young Mayor Jacob discussing the future of black Britain as part of Black History Month.
Sarah Jinodu (UKYP Rep, 2010/11), Kieran Lang (Young Mayor 2011/12), Kieza Silveira De Sousa (Young Mayor 2010/11) and Chezney Speed-Skyers (Deputy Young Mayor 2011/12), October 2011
In November the Young Mayor and Young Advisors were involved in a wide range of events across Lewisham including citizenship and volunteering events at Habadashers' Aske's Hatcham College and Knights Academy and the start of Kieza's budget proposals working to develop youth-led social enterprise. Kieran and Chezney (along with Dami and Lulu) also attended the Hearing Unheard Voices awards event at St. James's Palace where they helped introduce winners to HRH Princess Anne and Formula 1 star Nigel Mansell. Later that day they were formally inaugurated as the new Young Mayor and Deputy Young Mayor of Lewisham.
Lulu, Kieran and Chezney at St. James's Palace, November 2011
In December a major report about the summer riots was published by LSE and The Guardian which sparked further discussions within the community. Jacob appeared on BBC's Newsnight while Kieran and Kieza took part in a youth conference panel discussion at Deptford Green school. Dami and I (Manny) also met with Ed Miliband MP along with other community leaders in Brixton to see what we can do to help young people and the wider community following the summer disturbances. The year was rounded off with our second intergenerational Christmas event at Seniors in Forest Hill. A mixture of younger and older people put together a Carols and Cake event featuring performances from The Seniors Choir and students from St. Dunstan's College as well as a raffle and mulled wine and mince pies.
Kieza and Kieran at the Deptford Green Youth Conference, December 2011
I think, having seen all the work across the year, the Young Mayor, Young Advisors and YCP probably deserve the upcoming Christmas break. Thanks for all your support, see you in 2012!
