Mayor comes face-to-face with ‘UpRising’ at Tower Hamlets town hall

An ‘uprising’ has been reported at the town hall—a group of potential ‘future leaders’ holding a reception in Tower Hamlets Council chamber.

Youngsters on the UpRising youth development organisation’s ‘fast lane’ programme spent a day getting an insight into local government and its career opportunities.

They met the mayor and spoke to council officials about how they landed their jobs.

One official was the community training coordinator Asma Nahar who had taken part herself in UpRising’s first-ever leadership programme 10 years ago, which gave her self-confidence.

“It took me out of my comfort zone and exposed me to opportunities in unfamiliar environments,” she told them.

“Don’t worry about planning too far ahead and getting stressed out about your five-year plan—just concentrate on making the most of the opportunities you have now.”

Mayor John Biggs told them how he never imagined as a youngster that he would one day be the mayor of “one of London’s most exciting boroughs”.

The UpRising organisation’s mission is to “break the cycle of unrepresentative power” by developing community-minded and socially-conscious leaders.