London,
28
October
2010
|
23:00
Europe/London
Hackney Youth Parliament election results
The Hackney Youth Parliament election campaign reached its climax on Friday 15 October, when young people turned out in force to cheer on the successful candidates at Hackney Town Hall.
The elections were the highlight of an exciting series of events to mark Local Democracy Week (11-15 October), a campaign to connect young people with their local council.
Voting took place at secondary schools, colleges and youth clubs throughout the week. More than 3,600 young people aged 11 to 19, who live, study or work in Hackney cast their votes across the borough’s four neighbourhood areas - Homerton, North East, Shoreditch and Stoke Newington.
The 20 newly-elected members of Hackney Youth Parliament celebrated after months of campaigning and a nerve-wracking count in the Assembly Hall. The audience cheered and whooped in support as the results were announced.
Jermain Jackman, 15, parliament member for Stoke Newington, said: “It was an exciting and anxious time for all of us, but I’m now really looking forward to working on the issues that affect young people in the borough.
The young people will now join seven other members, from different youth forums, that make up Hackney Youth Parliament, whose job it is to represent the views of their peers and help influence positive change in the borough.
Councillor Rita Krishna, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said: “The elections are a fantastic example of youth democracy in action. The Council is absolutely committed to supporting the work of the Youth Parliament to ensure it continues to be an effective voice for young people in Hackney.”
Earlier in the day, as part of Local Democracy Week, a panel including the Mayor of Hackney, Jules Pipe; Steve Belk, Deputy Chief Executive, The Learning Trust; Vicky Hobart, Acting Director of Public Health, PCT; Supt Mark Bird, Hackney Police; and two candidates of the Youth Parliament, Matthew Oyetunji and Rhasan Brunner, were posed tough questions by students from local schools.
The variety of topics showed that young people in the borough have a real appetite for current affairs, which was further backed up by the popularity of the election results later in the day.
For more information about the Hackney Youth Parliament, including the full election results, visit: www.younghackney.org/elections
The elections were the highlight of an exciting series of events to mark Local Democracy Week (11-15 October), a campaign to connect young people with their local council.
Voting took place at secondary schools, colleges and youth clubs throughout the week. More than 3,600 young people aged 11 to 19, who live, study or work in Hackney cast their votes across the borough’s four neighbourhood areas - Homerton, North East, Shoreditch and Stoke Newington.
The 20 newly-elected members of Hackney Youth Parliament celebrated after months of campaigning and a nerve-wracking count in the Assembly Hall. The audience cheered and whooped in support as the results were announced.
Jermain Jackman, 15, parliament member for Stoke Newington, said: “It was an exciting and anxious time for all of us, but I’m now really looking forward to working on the issues that affect young people in the borough.
The young people will now join seven other members, from different youth forums, that make up Hackney Youth Parliament, whose job it is to represent the views of their peers and help influence positive change in the borough.
Councillor Rita Krishna, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said: “The elections are a fantastic example of youth democracy in action. The Council is absolutely committed to supporting the work of the Youth Parliament to ensure it continues to be an effective voice for young people in Hackney.”
Earlier in the day, as part of Local Democracy Week, a panel including the Mayor of Hackney, Jules Pipe; Steve Belk, Deputy Chief Executive, The Learning Trust; Vicky Hobart, Acting Director of Public Health, PCT; Supt Mark Bird, Hackney Police; and two candidates of the Youth Parliament, Matthew Oyetunji and Rhasan Brunner, were posed tough questions by students from local schools.
The variety of topics showed that young people in the borough have a real appetite for current affairs, which was further backed up by the popularity of the election results later in the day.
For more information about the Hackney Youth Parliament, including the full election results, visit: www.younghackney.org/elections