What is a Young Mayor?

There is no typical profile of a young mayor, in short a young mayor can be anyone (as long as they are young). No matter what your ethnicity, background or culture as long as you are between the ages of 13 and 17 then you can be young mayor. Do you have an interest in standing up letting your voice be heard, a passion for change and a thirst for doing what’s right? Do you want to be a voice for young people? Then the young mayor is perfect for you!

But what happens?

The young mayor is elected by all the young people in Lewisham, they are then given a budget of £30,000 to help develop Lewisham for young people, and you are given a team of young advisors to help you get what needs to be done, done! Of course it’s not easy being elected but we will give you training on how to campaign, make speeches and write a manifesto in the months following up to the election. You will then (if you want) go campaigning, convincing other people in Lewisham why they should vote for you and what makes you the perfect candidate (time to practise kissing babies and shaking hands!). Even if you don’t win, the training alone is well worth it and remember, those who dare, win. It took me two elections before I managed to get elected and Tony Blair did not win his first election. Falling down is not failing, not getting up again is!

So what happens if I get elected?

Well, you get a budget of £30,000 to change Lewisham for the better and you get given a team of young advisors to help and advise you in your job. No young mayor so far has done the job alone, behind every young mayor there is a team of people working to make sure that change is made. As well as spending the budget the young mayor will also attend meetings, speak at conferences, meet influential people (including the mayor, the prime minister and the queen), go on trips as youth ambassadors to other countries, and generally promoting youth voice. Of course none of this is compulsory; you only have to do it if you want to.

But why me, what can I do, I’m only a young person?

What does it take to make a difference? You! It takes one person to make a difference and if you want to make a difference stand for election.
One young person can make a difference. “One man can’t fight a battle but one man can lead an army”. Everywhere people are saying “it’s time for change” but nobody is prepared to make that change, change must come from within and here is your chance to be that change.

Stand for young mayor, make a difference, be the change that you want to see!