Today I am sharing a blog from my former Youth Ambassador Penelope.
Last month I was inaugurated as the 16th Youth Mayor of Oldham. Having been born and raised in the borough, it’s a huge privilege to take on this role as a civic representative for all the young people of Oldham.
I’m not entirely sure where my passion for advocacy and politics stemmed from, but I have always known I wanted to help others and perpetuate change. From watching and discussing the news with my parents, reading articles around my dad’s trade union, it helped me gain awareness of what was going on in the world around me socially, economically and politically.
I was a member of my primary school’s eco group and a member of the Student Leadership. I ran my campaign to join Oldham Youth Council in 2022 on topics such as period poverty, xenophobia, and misogyny as my key concerns. From then, I’ve been able to get involved in significant campaigns such as Votes at 16, environmentalism, mental health and many more.
One of my proudest accomplishments in my time as Vice Chair of the Youth Council was when I helped deliver the motion to full council to advocate for care-experience to be classed as a protected characteristic.
This led to my first meeting with the Children’s Commissioner to aid the voices of care-experienced young people. The campaign resulted in a petition being sent to the Prime Minister.
After meeting Dame Rachel, I felt inspired by her work that I applied to be one of her first Youth Ambassadors. During my time as an Ambassador, I was able to amplify the voices of children around the country by writing about the changes children needed ahead of the general election, hosting The Big Conversation podcast and shared my experienced at roundtables, including with Minister Dalton for the NHS 10-Year Plan.
Awareness, inspiration and connection will form key areas for my role as Youth Mayor over the next municipal year. I hope to spread awareness about issues young people feel most passionately about at meetings, conferences and events to engage local decision makers.
I want to inspire other young people to get involved with the Youth Council, or even just their school council. I plan to visit schools in Oldham to speak about the importance of youth leadership and to hear about young people’s passions and concerns. I also plan to connect with people across the borough by hosting and creating events, such as a Youth Mayor’s Ball, so that people see this platform and me as a role model.
I am delighted to have accepted this prestigious position with hope, joy, and gratitude. The young people of Oldham have established a sense of trust in my position, and I hope to do them all proud in representing the borough we love.
