Young people have elected their new youth mayor of London’s East End in a closely-fought election in schools and youth clubs.
Fahimul Islam won the polls to become the new Young Mayor of Tower Hamlets to represent pupils and teenagers from 11 to 18 for the next two years.
His inauguration took place on Thursday at the Town Hall, when outgoing Young Mayor Dengyan San ceremonially handed over the ‘chain of office’.
“This role has changed my life,” Dengyan told Islam. “Everyone who knows me knows how much I have changed in the last two years.”
Islam got 3,633 votes out of 10,000. He is already a member of the Youth Opportunities Fund panel and the Youth Council, as well as an experienced member of a campaign on career and employment opportunities for young people with its slogan ‘Aspire, Believe, Become’.
He has been joined by two other candidates, Sadia Ahmed and Shaiam Islam, to make up the Young Mayor team.
Fahimul, echoing his campaign slogan, promised the inauguration: “I will make every effort to make Tower Hamlets a place for all young people to aspire, believe and become.”
It was a close fight for Fahimul. Now he and his team is to start a series of formal meetings with the Mayor to lobby for the causes that matter to the youngsters.
Tower Hamlets council sees the Young Mayor’s role as vital in listening to the East End’s youth to make sure they play their part in planning for their own future.
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