Young Mayor and Youth
Council Blog 2009
Young Mayor - Kaycee de Belen and
members of the Youth Council tell us what they're getting up
to...
21 December, 2009
Taking pride in Newham's young people
Aadilah Ismail
I went along to the Youth Service awards with Kaycee
at the Old Town Hall in Stratford - an amazing event and a great
opportunity to promote volunteering and learning opportunities for
local young people. Loads of young people were there to receive
awards for Duke of Edinburgh, Volunteering and Youth Work
qualifications.
It was great to see hundreds of young people who have achieved
loads and given back to their community - it just goes to show how
the media have got it wrong; most young people aren't the thugs or
louts they try to paint us as! Congratulations to everyone who
received an award.
***************************************************
12 December, 2009
Skills for young people
Kaycee de Belen
Last weekend I went with
Deputy
Young Mayor Aadilah to the
Green Street Skills Fair. The event was all about helping local
people to get skills and find jobs.
I really enjoyed meeting young people who go to the local centre we
visited. I think these events are really important - it gives us
all the chance to find out more about the opportunities that are
available for us as young people.
There are a lot of things for everyone in our community to get
involved in and I think we need to do more to publicise things like
this!
***************************************************
11 December, 2009
Almost....carolling at Richard House
Kaycee de Belen
I was supposed to be at Richard House this evening and got stuck in
really bad traffic. I ended up having to cancel as we just couldn't
get there in time. I was so disappointed because I think they do
some amazing work at the hospice - and I wanted to be there to show
my support. I hope you'll read more about them by visiting their
website.
***************************************************
4 December, 2009
Speaking to the Safeguarding Children's Board
Aadilah Ismail
On Wednesday I spoke at the Local Safeguarding Children's Board
Winter Conference. It's a joint committee of different people and
organisations who are in charge of keeping children and young
people safe. I went there a bit nervous but motivated to tell
people from the Council, police and health service about our
priorities - and what we think needs change to improve the lives of
local young people.
I renewed the Youth Council commitment to work with the
Safeguarding Board to keep young people safe in school, at home and
in the community. I also talked about the issues of Road Safety and
Substance Misuse - which stood out to me during my election
campaign as issues young people in Newham really care about.
***************************************************
29 November, 2009
Talking about safety in Stratford
Kaycee de Belen
I went over to the Stratford Safety Market to talk to young people
about safety in our local area. It was good to see young people
asking questions and getting advice from local police on how to
stay safe and on looking out for their friends too.
Community safety is one of my key priorities and I'm glad this was
a successful day. I think local police and safer neighbourhood
teams should keep doing this work as it means that young people can
get to meet them and learn more about what they do - as well as
asking them for advice if they need it.
***************************************************
27 November, 2009
Celebrating the spirit of young people
Kaycee de Belen
Yesterday I led a delegation of Youth Councillors to support
Newham's young people at the
Spirit
of London Awards. It was incredible to see so many deserving
young people nominated for the awards - and amazing that Newham's
very own Ascension Eagles were shortlisted for the Community
Champions category. Even more special was Nathan Storey winning the
Young Heroes award - incredible stuff!
It was great to see lots of celebrities supporting the awards too -
I think it can really help to raise the profile of events like
this, especially when young people are being rewarded for the
outstanding things they do!
***************************************************
19 November, 2009
Youth Council getting on with the job
Kaycee de Belen
Wow - our first formal Youth Council meeting! I was a bit nervous
before it started as I was chairing my first meeting, but we all
soon got into the swing of it and there was a lot on the agenda to
get through.
We had a consultation I helped to organise on something called the
Local Development Framework - it's all about what we think Newham
should look like in 30 years time and the kinds of things we will
need here as we grow up.
I think it's really important to involve local people in making
decisions and today was all about how we can change things in our
borough and make them better.
***************************************************
12 November, 2009
Advising Kim on our priorities
Kaycee de Belen
I had a meeting with Kim Bromley-Derry yesterday - he's Newham's
Executive Director for Children and Young People and looks after
all the different services that the Council provides for young
people.
We talked about what areas Kim is responsible for - there are so
many! Most importantly though, we spent time talking about the
priorities you elected me on. I told Kim about the need for more
youth facilities in Stratford and why it's a priority that Newham
does more to make things safer for young people.
***************************************************
11 November, 2009
Sharing the educational legacy of the Games around the
UK
Kaycee de Belen
Early on Tuesday morning I went to St. Pancras Station with Seb Coe
to wave off a group of young people from Newham on a journey to
Sheffield to spread the benefits of the London 2012 legacy.
There were 20 students from
Cumberland
School in Plaistow who met with local athletes and
schoolchildren from Barnsley, and they took part in a workshop
called 'Have You Got What It Takes?' Basically it was an
'Apprentice'-style competition which used the Games and the
Olympic and Paralympic Values to teach them
how to be more creative, to solve problems and to work as a
team. They also learnt about managing money and how to plan a
budget.
I'm really excited about the Games and the regeneration they'll
bring to Newham and the whole of London.
***************************************************
6 November, 2009
Relaying the baton...
Kaycee de Belen
Today I was over at Newham Leisure Centre helping young people to
celebrate their achievements in sport. It was part of a whole day
of events to celebrate the Queen's Baton Relay for the Commonwealth
Games in Delhi.
There was a great atmosphere when I arrived and I presented the
medals and trophies for the competition winners. I think it's
important to make sure we celebrate the positive things that young
people do!
***************************************************
6 November, 2009
Young people taking over
Aadilah Ismail
Takeover Day was really productive. It was all about decision
making and speaking up for young people. Kaycee, I and the Youth
Council were really enthusiastic about sharing our thoughts and
opinions about situations and issues we face in Newham.
It was a good experience because I realised how much adults are
actually trying to get through to us and help us get what we want
as young people. We are trying our best to ensure that all young
people benefit from the little changes that are being made, and
working for more positive change in the near future.
***************************************************
4 November, 2009
Decoding politics for young people
Aadilah Ismail
On Wednesday Kaycee and I attended a seminar about young people's
involvement in voting and politics.
At first it made me think that politics can be really complex. But
once we talked about different generations' experience of politics
I changed my mind, because once you get past political jargon you
realise it's about basic, everyday situations, like feeling safe
when you're walking home from school, or having a good local youth
club, and being involved in making decisions about the local
community.
I came away pleased that we went to the event and represented young
people and their views on politics, voting and how it's really
important for politicians and local councils to be talking and
working directly with young people.
***************************************************
23 October, 2009
Election night…
Kaycee de Belen
The election evening was very exciting and nerve racking. As I saw
the ballot papers piling up in each of the candidates' trays I felt
quite anxious. The build-up was really tense but having family,
friends and the other candidates around made me feel more at ease.
We've all come through this and I know we'll make a really strong
Youth Council together.
When we went up on stage for the results and declaration, the
atmosphere was amazing as the crowd was roaring with enthusiasm. I
could really feel the butterflies in my stomach. As Chief Executive
Joe Duckworth, the Returning Officer, came to the microphone to
read out the result the crowd went wild. Then when I heard 2,615
votes after my name I was overjoyed - thank you to everyone who
voted for me! I received the Young Mayor's Badge with pride.
I'm so thrilled to say that I am the Young Mayor of Newham. Joshua
and Tommy made such a difference for local young people. Now I'm
looking forward to a year working with Deputy Young Mayor Aadilah
and the Youth Council. I promise that we'll be working together to
represent all young people and making sure that our views are heard
at every level!