One month after becoming Tower Hamlets’ fifth Young Mayor, we caught up with Nahimul Islam and one of his deputies, Nadeem Miah, to find out what they’ve been doing and how they’re finding their newfound fame.
So tell me, what have you been up to since last month’s inauguration?
Nahimul: We’ve been working with the youth council every Wednesday, helping them organise their launch event and work out what their priorities for young people are. We just went on a three day residential with them to Wales too which was really good. Today we met some young people from the North Yorkshire Youth Council – they wanted to come down and see how our youth council compares to theirs.
Nadeem: It made me appreciate how lucky we are to have the transport system we have – they were telling us they have nothing like that up in Yorkshire.
Nahimul: I’m hoping we’ll be able to sort out an exchange with them so we can we spend some time up there seeing what they do.
Both: We also met two representatives from the UK Youth Parliament and gave a presentation at the Children and Young People’s Board.
Nahimul: XLP, a charity that works with young people in inner London, asked me to give a speech and present awards at their arts showcase. That was loads of fun and probably the best thing I’ve done since becoming Young Mayor.
That brings me on to this next question; which bits have been the most fun?
Nahimul: Definitely the residential and XLP’s awards do.
Nadeem: The residential really brought us all together because we all really got to know each other.
Nahimul: And the activities meant we gained lots of new skills.
What kind of activities did you do then?
Nahimul: Well I was the returning officer at the youth council elections, just like Kevan Collins was when I became Young Mayor. So, at the residential we were really involved in running the workshops and talks with the youth council members.
Both: Basically, the youth workers gave us the responsibility of making sure the group didn’t mess about and if the noise was getting too loud, it was up to us to tell them.
Nadeem: We did loads of different activities but the workshop we did on public speaking was top notch.
Nahimul: Yeah the workshops actually benefited everyone – you could see the difference in the group by the end of the trip. Some of the girls were really quiet at first but by the end of it, they were really confident.
Both: But we did loads of active stuff like gorge walking, speed boating and orienteering. And we had to climb a waterfall and jump from the top!
Why did you decide to run as Young Mayor?
Nahimul: I want to get into politics when I’m older so I thought this would be a good first step.
Nadeem: I wanted to find out what young people want for the borough and help them get their voices across.
What did your parents, friends and people at school say after the results were announced?
Nahimul: I was the first ever candidate to stand from Raine’s Foundation so the fact that I won does make me feel like a role model within the school.
Nadeem: My seven year old brother has already asked my mum if she thinks he can win the Young Mayor election one day!
Nahimul: Yeah, we’re both the eldest in our families so we’re hoping our younger siblings will follow in our footsteps. That would be cool.
Have you been recognised in the street yet?
Nahimul: Yeah, three girls came up to me and asked if I was the Young Mayor and when I said I was, they started screaming!
Nadeem: We’ve had loads of friend requests on facebook since as well.
Nahimul: I’d rather people recognised me for my work though, not just who I am.
So what are your plans and priorities for the next two years?
Both: We’ve finalised two of our three priorities and they are community cohesion (reducing territorialism) and reducing the number of young people who aren’t at school, in college or at work.
Tasmina couldn’t be here today but how are the three of you getting on as a team?
Both: Really well. We were close anyway but we’re like our own little family now. It’s weird, all three of us were born in January as well!
Nahimul: Nadeem and I knew each other anyway through mutual friends and football and we actually helped each other out with campaigning during the election.
Even though you were standing against each other?
Both: Yeah!
What do you both like doing in your free time?
Nahimul: Well obviously we’re pretty busy with school and Young Mayor stuff but at the moment it’s all about exam revision.
Nadeem: Yeah we have to make sure we balance everything, and find time for football as well.
So tell me about school; what are you both studying?
Nahimul: I’ve already taken early GCSEs in Maths and Science so now I’m just concentrating on the other subjects – History, Geography, Sociology, English and IT.
Nadeem: I’m taking my GCSEs this summer too so I’ve got Graphic Design, Sport Studies, History, ICT, English, Maths, double Science and RE to focus on right now.
Sounds like you’re both really busy. Is there anything you want to say to young people in the borough?
Nahimul: Yeah I’d like to say that I’m hoping we’ll be able to make a difference but we still need their support and hopefully we won’t let them down.
Both: We want to thank everyone who voted for us and our campaign teams for helping us get through the election.
Nahimul: I want to thank everyone at Wapping Youth Centre as well for backing me up.
Nadeem: And I’d like to thank everyone at Osmani Youth Centre for helping me, especially the manager there.
Both: We couldn’t have done it without them!
For more information about how you can get involved in Tower Hamlets’ youth council, call 020 7364 4389 or email lee.ocsko@towerhamlets.gov.uk
To get in touch with the Young Mayor team, email amp@towerhamlets.gov.uk
