Serkan Maraşlı will sit on the green benches of the House of Commons this autumn
Turkish student Serkan Maraşlı will attend the annual sitting of the UK Youth Parliament in the House of Commons in November after being elected to represent Islington.
He becomes the second-ever member of the parliament to come from the borough.
Serkan said: “I’m really excited about representing Islington’s young people and making an impact at national events organised by the British Youth Council and UK Youth Parliament, including attending the annual sitting at the House of Commons in November.”
This week also saw the election of a group of youth councillors to speak up for young people in Islington on the issues that matter to them.
Diana Gomez became the new Young Mayor of Islington and Tega Agbede will took the role of Deputy Young Mayor following an election among their fellow youth councillors on Monday 13 February.
The pair will be responsible for representing Islington’s Youth Council at regional young mayor meetings as well as civic events and awards ceremonies.
Young mayor Diana, who has spent the last year as deputy young mayor, said: “I’m delighted to be elected. My aim is to represent and engage with young people in order to make Islington a great place for us all to enjoy, learn and achieve our goals.”
Tega, the new deputy young mayor, said: “I am really keen to support the young mayor at events and meetings. I am also looking forward to asking council leaders questions on issues which affect us. As young people we have the right to have our voices heard by decision-makers.”
The Islington Youth Council is elected every two years, but the positions of young mayor, deputy young mayor and member for youth parliament are changed every year to give more of the youth council’s members the opportunity to hold office.
Youth councillors are responsible for making sure the opinions of young people in Islington are heard by campaigning for the needs and interests of their young electorate.
The youth councillors also work with council officers and elected councillors in Islington to ensure young people have a key role in planning, designing, delivering and reviewing services.
Find out more about Islington Youth Council at izzy-info.com, follow them on Facebook or Twitter @IslingtonYC.