- I hope to promote workshops to highlight the detrimental effect of drugs on youths
- I desire to organise , volunteer clean ups, in order to remove the litter in Redbridge streets
- I also aim to campaign against domestic violence, with the use of workshops and posters
One of the most prominent issues facing youths in modern society is the crippling effects of drugs, a problem which I would tackle as the future Member Of Youth Parliament (MYP). In order to inspire change within the next generation, I would work with organisations that act to stagger drug intake such as “WDP Fusion”, promoting services which not only assist rehabilitation but prevent their intake with the likes of presentations in youth clubs and schools. I would also provide the likes of workshops in libraries.
Another issue I would address is the litter crisis which has infested the streets of Redbridge, with future repercussions on climate change, which will heavily affect youths in the future. In order to resolve this issue, I would work with Vision which organises volunteer clean-ups, which I would promote.
Finally, I have chosen to highlight domestic violence in Redbridge, which is a topic that has increased since COVID-19. If I was elected to be MYP I would launch a campaign to promote services, such as “Refuge”, offering peer support and specialist support.
Redbridge Youth Council
Join the Youth Council and make a difference to your borough
Are you:
- fed up with feeling like there's nothing for young people to do?
- think nobody ever listens to your views?
- wish you had more control over what happens in Redbridge?
- aged between 11 and 19 and living and/or studying in Redbridge?
Then come and join the Redbridge Youth Council.
Redbridge Youth Council
Get involved
Join the council and make a difference to your borough. We want to give young people aged 11 to 19 in Redbridge a say on the issues that matter to them and a chance to have their voice heard. As a member of the Youth Council, you will get involved in a number of our campaigns. Some recent campaigns include raising awareness of mental health in schools, writing guidelines for schools about sexual harassment and looking at raising awareness about gang and knife culture. You do not have to be elected to be a member of the Youth Council, just come along.
We meet at Redbridge Town Hall every Monday evening during term-time. If you’d like to attend please contact us or visit our get involved page. During our sessions we discuss things that matter to you and other young people in Redbridge. We also have guests from various outside agencies such as Kooth, Via and CATTs (Cancer Awareness for Teens and Twenties). The meetings are run, with your help, by our current MYPs.
Redbridge Youth Elections
12,357 young people, from 28 schools and organisations, voted in our last Redbridge Youth Elections which took place in 2022. That was an amazing performance and is 38% of the young people in Redbridge aged 11-18 year old. The school with the highest turnout was Loxford School with 1,255 ballots and the school with the highest percentage turnout was Ilford County High School with 98% of the pupils voting.
Our current Redbridge Members of Youth Parliament are:
- Abdul Mateen Riaz and Annmarie Jaxen
- Our deputy MYP is Aarav Prabhakar
Read their manifesto pledges:
Aarav Prabhakar
Abdul Mateen Riaz
- I aim to raise awareness and provide information about help and support with homelessness
- I aim to arrange career choice workshops as well as promoting work shadowing
- Educate and help people about knife crime and campaign for more extra-curricular activities
I would like to educate young people on homelessness through workshops and assemblies. According to multiple reports, many children in Redbridge are without a permanent home. School children who have these housing and financial issues have a disadvantage, therefore, to give them an equal opportunity schools in Redbridge, I will raise awareness and campaign for them to be provided with stationary, textbooks and any other necessary resources.
The second thing I would like to achieve is arranging career choices workshops and to work with local businesses to offer more opportunities for work shadowing, this will be beneficial as you can watch somebody do their job and then be able to see what it is like. The career choices workshops will allow students to have a greater understanding about a certain job.
The final thing I would like to achieve is to educate and help young people about knife crime and offer more extra-curricular activities. To make Redbridge a safer place to live, we must end knife crime. I will educate the youth about knife crime and provide information on what to do if they are faced with it. I will campaign for more extra-curricular activities, so students will be able to occupy themselves in other activities.
Annmarie Jaxen
- I aim to support young people experiencing Domestic Violence to know where to get help
- I pledge that sexual harassment in schools will be challenged and is no longer a taboo topic
- I will ensure racial abuse is not tolerated in school and that everyone will be treated equally
Domestic Violence is a common issue that is silenced and suppressed in society. I will work to battle the silence regarding this dangerously common issue by providing a greater awareness of the impact it can have on the children and their school life. I will work to provide schools and young people with information and advice from different organisations on where to get help and support. I will encourage schools to do regular surveys asking students how they feel at home and if they have any concerns.
Sexual Harassment should not and cannot be normalised in school- yet, it still is. This cannot continue. This issue must be dealt with by regular reminders regarding the consequences of sexual harassment, female rights, the right to say no and the power of consent.
Bullying is an issue that should not be tolerated, and it should be assured from a young age that people of all backgrounds must be accepted- no matter colour of skin, religion, gender, sexuality and more. Bullying can be dealt with by assemblies delivered by students and teachers in schools about different ethnicities, performances/ presentations from different countries (music and dance) and food from different cultures every month.
Make Your Mark
Make Your Mark is an opportunity for 11-18-year olds across the UK to have their say and begin their democratic journey by voting on the issues they want to change. Nationally, Health and Wellbeing was the biggest issue for young people, although in Redbridge our top issue was Education and Learning followed by Jobs, Homes and Opportunities. These will therefore be the issues that we will focus on in the future.
5, 433 young people took part in 2022 Make Your Mark consultation in Redbridge, which is the 3rd highest in London. Thank you to all the schools and young people that took part.
Child Friendly Redbridge (CFR) Ambassadors
Redbridge understands how important young people are and so we are working with UNICEF and Redbridge young people known as Ambassadors to become a Child Friendly Borough. For more information about this check out the Child Friendly Redbridge website.
Redbridge Youth on Instagram
For all our news follow 'Redbridge Youth' on Instagram. Our page will provide you with everything you need to know about youth services and being young in Redbridge.
We will bring you information on a range of things including:
- youth service activities
- leisure and sporting activities
- education
- training and job opportunities and much more
We want this to become the place where you get all of the information you need as a young person in Redbridge.
Get in touch with us
Contact us at youth.council@redbridge.gov.uk