Young mayor and his team visits Cabinet

The young mayor of Tower Hamlets and his team fulfilled their first public appointment with a visit to the Tower Hamlets Cabinet this week.

Young Mayor Jaami Barry and his deputies addressed a busy Cabinet meeting to lay out their vision for their term working closely with the Cabinet and the wider council.

Jaami Barry, Young Mayor of Tower Hamlets said: “I’m 16 years old and I’m a proud British Bangladeshi. I come from a family who support me tremendously and if it wasn’t for my parents I wouldn’t be where I am today, so I am forever grateful.

“My vision for Tower Hamlets is simple. I’ve always had a passion for helping people and I aim to work hard to make tower hamlets a safer, happier and cleaner borough.”

John Biggs Mayor of Tower Hamlets said: “It was inspiring to hear the passion of Jammi and his team when they spoke at the Cabinet meeting.I know that they will ensure that the council hears the voice of younger people and I look forward to working with the Young Mayor and his Deputies”

Jaami won his election in March on the promise of making a difference in the area of mental health. 70 per cent of children and young people who experience a mental health problem have not had appropriate interventions at a sufficiently early age. Other team members laid out their ideas for how the council can communicate with young people and they will develop their plans over their term.

The young mayor and the deputy mayors will serve for two years and their role will be to voice the views of young people in the borough. To do this they will be working with other local young people on their issues and concerns by:

representing young people locally and nationally;

getting involved in the Tower Hamlets Youth Council and other local youth forums;

attending events and organising special projects; and

influencing and steering strategic decisions that affect young people in the borough.

The elected representatives will sit on the borough’s youth council and will also work alongside the council’s full Cabinet members to drive change and improvements across the borough.