‘I want to help teenagers’ says Islington’s youngest ever youth councillor
Zenari Singh - Credit: Archant
A 13-year-old schoolboy has been elected the youngest ever youth councillor for Islington – and will be in charge of a £120,000 budget.
Zenari Singh, a pupil at Holloway School, in Hilldrop Road, was chosen to represent the borough’s young people alongside 11 successful candidates at the Islington Assembly Hall last month.
Zenari, who hopes to become a commercial pilot after completing his education, said that he wants to “make a difference for the youths of Islington” – including preparing state school pupils for their future careers.
He said: “Sometimes rich students in private schools get a better education. I’d like to start a workshop called Skills for Life which would help teenagers get skills for when they grow up.
“We don’t all know what we want to be in our lives, but there are key steps that we can take to ensure that we are in control of what we create for ourselves.”
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Zenari wrote a manifesto and completed training sessions during the election.
Now, with the other 11 youth council members, he will act as the voice of the borough’s youth for the next two years and Zenari’s classmates have given him suggestions to put forward, including provision of a skate park, an all-weather sports pitch and incentives to avoid gang culture.
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Prepared
One of Zenari’s responsibilities is public speaking.
“I’m a house captain, charity leader, and school councillor,” he said, “so I’ve done a lot of talking in front of big groups. I’m OK as long as I’m prepared, otherwise I’d find it daunting.
“I’m really pleased to be the youngest youth councillor. Every one said well done and congratulated me. My mum was very happy and so was my dad,” he added.
His headteacher Bob Hamlyn said: “All of us at Holloway School are enormously proud of Zenari.”
n For more go to http://www.izzy-info.com/kb5/islington/enterprise/youth.page.
