News August 2008
The newsletter of haringey youth council
Change is good The Youth Council Cabinet is made up of young people elected by the Youth Council to do all the hard work. When we started, we called ourselves the Executive, but we’re changing our name to the Youth Council Cabinet. Our new name is more professional, parallels the adult Council, and it’s easier to say. And because change really is good, we’ve elected some new Cabinet Members too.
Secretary
Chandani Amin Secretary
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I have been involved with Haringey Youth Council since summer 2007 when I was co-opted to work on the anti-bullying march. I want to use the experience I have gained over the last year to support Haringey Council and build bridges of communication to make sure that we as a council, and as youths, can make Haringey the best it can be.
Chandani Amin Highgate Wood School
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Environmental Champion
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Haringey Council has already made a pledge to become the greenest borough in London. I believe this dream can become a reality if we youths get involved. Simple changes such as switching off lights or cleaning dishes in the sink rather than the dishwasher can reduce energy consumption. I want to make them a habit, and show people that youths are also taking part in the battle to keep the earth stable.
Jay Borkhataria Fortismere School
Jay Borkhataria Environmental Champion
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Going green The Better Haringey Award Ceremony celebrated the hard work and commitment people have put into making Haringey a better, cleaner and greener place to live in. The event was hosted by Richard Blackwood who presented the six awards. Winners included a man who restored trees in Tottenham Cemetery, The Washable Nappy Company, who encourage new mums and dads to use washable nappies, and a couple who had installed everything from photovoltaic solar panels to foil behind their radiators to make their house as green as possible. A special award went to Moselle Special School for its work with young people. It was an enjoyable night that taught us many things about the world around us. We can’t wait to represent HYC at many similar nights in the future.
Taking it to the top George Meehan is the Leader of Haringey Council. As the person in the top position, he‘s responsible for getting things right for everyone in Haringey, including young people.
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What can the Council do to improve perceptions of young people? It’s important that there’s dialogue across the generations. Older people will say ‘I’m afraid of the youth’, and a lot of the time there are no grounds for that. But nevertheless it is there. Another misconception is that there is more violence around now. I don’t accept that either. But it is important to have a dialogue. It’s by talking to each other that we can set aside our preconceptions.
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What are Haringey Council doing to tackle child poverty? Trying to get people into jobs is a good way of tackling child poverty. We’ve got over 100 people in the last two months back into employment. The second way is to make sure people get all the benefits they are entitled to, whether it’s housing benefit or council tax benefit or whatever. It’s important we encourage people to sign up.
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“ Nali Moftizadeh Junior Champion Park View Academy
The Youth Council is a great opportunity for the youth to get their voice heard. We got the opportunity to ask George a few questions about what Haringey Council are doing to help young people, as we want the best for all the youths in Haringey and believe that opportunities like this will give us a helping hand.
Nali Moftizadeh
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Ask George! “
How do you think Haringey Council could get young people involved in the democratic process? What we need to try and get all people to understand is that politicians make decisions about their lives whether they get involved or not. Everything the Council does affects the lives of people in the Borough: housing, how we look after old people, or how we clean the streets are just as important to young people as what happens in schools. Your voice on other services is just as important. I want the Youth Council to be involved in the whole of the Council across the spectrum.
George Meehan Leader Haringey Council
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your views to
youthcouncil
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haringey.gov.uk
What is the Council doing to increase youth provision? This year we’ve provided an extra £800,000 worth of activities for youth, which should give young people a more active involvement and a combination of activities that will appeal to different people.
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What can the Council do to improve perceptions of young people? It’s important that there’s dialogue across the generations. Older people will say ‘I’m afraid of the youth’, and a lot of the time there are no grounds for that. But nevertheless it is there. Another misconception is that there is more violence around now. I don’t accept that either. But it is important to have a dialogue. It’s by talking to each other that we can set aside our preconceptions.
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Thanks
George
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Yoot in da House Young people storm the House of Lords to have their say on what’s important. For 700 years Britain’s wealthiest and most powerful aristocrats - like the bishops, barons, earls and lords - have been advising kings and queens, deciding how things ought to be, and trying to hold on to all their power, in the House of Lords, the second house of the UK Parliament. But in May this year 300 young people from the UK Youth Parliament took over the House of Lords Chamber to debate the things that young people think are important. It was only the second time in the House of Lords’ long and lavish history that the Chamber had been used by anyone outside Parliament.
Adam Jogee MYP for Haringey
Adam Jogee, MYP for Haringey, said “Although we are not old enough to vote in the elections, this does not mean we have to sit in silence. Young people do care about politics, and we do care about the world around us but too often it feels as if adults don’t want to listen. Hopefully by allowing young people to take centre stage and sit in the House of Lords this will now change.” Public transport, tuition fees and the environment were voted as the top three issues for this year, and the environment was chosen unanimously to be the key focus of UKYP’s national campaign.
Shout out Your chance to put your ideas at the top of the Youth Council’s agenda. We’re organising a Shout Out day in November to give young people in Haringey the chance to decide what we should focus on for the next couple of years. Is it fair that some shops only let two school children in at a time? Are there enough places for young people to go? Are young people treated fairly in the media? Should we be allowed to vote at 16? If you have anything to say about issues like these, then you are already thinking about how you would like to live. The next step is doing something about it. There will be workshops, open debates, music from local talent, lots of food and, most importantly, the chance to make sure your views, concerns and needs are heard. Look out for the Shout Out poll at www.youthspace.haringey.gov.uk
News Email your views and ideas to youthcouncil@haringey.gov.uk or find out more about the Youth Council at www.youthspace.haringey.gov.uk or look for us on MySpace and Facebook
HYC News was produced by Haringey Youth Council Media & Marketing Group with help from young people at Exposure. It was funded by Haringey Youth Opportunity Fund.