YOUNG PEOPLE in Tower Hamlets are unstoppable. All too often we hear about the problems young people cause – but on 5th December Tower Hamlets Council celebrated what the borough’s engaged youth community has achieved.
The achievement was marked at an awards ceremony: 70 young people had been nominated for awards organised in ten categories. The awards were handed out, while entertainment was provided my the youth orchestra, Bianca Santos and spoken word artists Alyssa and Maryam. Two members of Tower Hamlets Youth Council, Daniel Momoh and Liliana Noor, hosted the event.
Mayor Lutfur Rahman led the praise, saying, “I congratulate all the nominees for their exceptional achievements. I am immensely proud of the invaluable work they are doing in our community. Their contributions are leaving a lasting impact, and we are truly fortunate to have them as members of our community.”
Mayor Lutfur Rahman emphasised that his praise was not just hollow words. He also listed how his Administration had put its money where its mouth is and invested in the borough’s young people: •investing in a youth service, with local youth centres; •bringing back university bursaries to support young people in higher education; •bringing back the Education Maintenance Allowance to support over-16s in education. The above measures are only the beginning, with the Youth Service – now rebranded as “Young Tower Hamlets” – ready to work on rolling out more support for young people to realise their dreams and contribute to society.
Deputy Mayor Cllr Maium Talukdar, as the Cabinet Member for Education, Youth and Lifelong Learning, oversees much of this work. He also said how proud he is of the young people in Tower Hamlets. “All of the nominees and winners have made an outstanding impact and should be proud of themselves,” he said. “It’s great to see them celebrated for their hard work and dedication. As a council we strive to ensure our young people have the best oppportunities and are recognised for their achievements.”
Individual award winners: Young Entrepreneur – Feliks Szyszka Young Volunteer Award – Kaleemah Rahman Youth Arts Award – Malia Bernadine Youth Sports Award – Nadine Ben Mhamed Breaking Barriers Award – Tania Bgum Above and Beyond Award – Omar Alibrahim Young Achiever Award – Taibah Hussain Young Inspirational Leader – Sumayyah Mohamed Mokbul
Group award winners: Youth Arts Award – Community Heroes – Mural Makers Youth Sports Award – Vallance Community Sports Association
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