You can read my manifesto below:
My name is Hamaam. I am a Somali/Dutch national born in the UK. My parents fled from war-torn Somalia while they had my three older brothers, they were distraught after leaving the country which they called home for over 20 years. My parents found it difficult to integrate with society as immigrants who could not speak the language they faced many hardships including racism on a daily basis, struggling to find work and provide for their family.After a few years my parents had me and for almost half of my life I have lived in deprived areas such as Aston and Alum rock. I have experienced the difficulties young black boys face on a daily basis. My own teacher said that I could never reach far in life and achieve anything. However I stayed persistent in spite of those difficulties, I worked hard to achieve excellent GCSE grades and I now attend Cadbury sixth form college and I am studying Law, Health and social care and criminology. I one day hope to become an international human rights lawyer and help advocate for people whose rights have been taken away or are victims of war crimes e.t.c. I am very very passionate about fighting for the interests of young people and getting their voices heard in a world where young people are seen as kids who have no say in the country's affairs.
I am currently an Active board member of the West Midlands Young Combined Authority working closely with the Mayor of the west midlands, councilors of Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley,walsall, wolverhampton e.t.c. I have also sat on various west midlands combined authority board meetings with the mayor of the west midlands and discussed matters of importance for young people such as tackling youth crime,mental health, youth employment. I have also had many meetings with subgroups in the youth combined authority and provided my input about the environment and how we can make the west midlands green ahead of the national set limit. Me and my team also work in partnership with other youth collective groups such as the London youth assembly, Yorkshire YCA, Manchester YCA and the Liverpool YCA. Over the past years i have gained many insights in issues affecting the youth and i feel passionate about creating more opportunities for young people not only in birmingham but in the united kingdom,and widening democratic participation of young people, supporting better work opportunities and providing the youth with skills that can help them get into jobs they want.
What are my priorities and what i am passionate about
- Youth unemployment
- Votes at 16 —
- Tackling youth crime —--
- Lack of funding for young people —---
- The closing down of youth clubs which is outrageous —-
- The climate emergency
- Education
- Free transport or cheaper prices on public transport for young people —-
- Mental health
- The cost of the living prices and youth poverty
- Equipping young people with skills for future jobs
- Increasing participation with young people across birmingham —-
- Free food or cheaper food school prices —-
- Ensuring that young peoples voices are heard no matter what —---
Tackling youth crime-
Youth violence and crime has been on the rise especially in birmingham in crimes such as theft, robbery, drugs, violence and carrying an offensive weapons .In the year ending of 2021 there had been an arrest 50,784 young people, 18,649 young people were taken to court and 12,217 were given a sentence and the average custodial sentence was 16.8 months which is a very high number. However there is a reason why these numbers are high because there has been up to one thousand youth centers that have been shut down and 5,000 youth workers made redundant. Areas suffering the most significant cuts in spending on young people have recorded larger increases in knife crime and drug-related crimes .Youth services are the last line of defense for vulnerable children If these children have a bad time at home and don’t have the structure of school, for whatever reason, and then you take away youth services too, they’re completely on their own, with nothing protecting them from physical abuse, self-harm and drug use, being exploited and groomed.
If I am elected as MYP for Birmingham, I will provide solutions such as seeking more funding in Birmingham for youth centers and clubs and promoting a future where youth crime will be seen as a thing from the past. I will achieve this by working closely with schools in the city of Birmingham and identifying ways I can work in partnership with Birmingham council and youth lead collectives and supporting the young vulnerable population of birmingham.
Free transport or cheaper prices for tickets on public transport -
As you know I am currently a student of Cadbury sixth form college and to get to sixth form I have to take public transport and I am very lucky that my sixth form provides free swift cards for all students. However not many students are this lucky and many students make journeys longer than 45 minutes and the average daily bus ticket costs 2 pound a day and for students in university it may cost even more and it costs around 10 pounds or more for the whole week, this may not sound much but over a year it can cost up to a 1000 pounds and many young children may come from a deprived background and parents may need to decide whether to feed and clothe their children or pay for a bus fare. This could lead to a child missing valuable education time because they can not afford bus tickets.
In south yorkshire they have zoom beyond passes where you can travel anywhere in south yorkshire for 80 pence if you are between 16-21 years old. I would love to as a MYP for Birmingham introduce something like this in Birmingham as it could be very beneficial. Also for students who can't all afford public transport the schools should provide free travel passes for them.
Free school meals or cheaper school meals-
School food prices are notoriously known to be ridiculously priced as in my college for a small single wrap or burger it will set you back £3 or more which is shocking. As we all know since the covid pandemic and increasing gas and electricity prices many families are finding it increasingly difficult to pay for things, and one way we can lighten the burden on families who are struggling is to introduce cheaper food prices and cap them at for example £2 for a meal deal.
Increasing participation with young people across Birmingham-
One thing that I am also very passionate about is working with young people and widening democratic participation. In the make your mark 2022 results report only 13 people voted in the area of Birmingham which resulted in a 0.01% turnout ,However, our counterparts in Wolverhampton had a total 10,149 votes which resulted in a 39.31% turnout which is absolutely amazing and it shows that young people working as collective group can make a huge impact.
If i am elected as a MYP for birmingham i aspire to work with all schools in birmingham.I will achieve this by setting up a birmingham youth council made up of Head boys and girls of every school in birmingham, by creating a youth council all voices of young people will be heard and accounted for. I also work very closely with the mayor of the west midlands and several councilors in the west midlands such as ian courts and i will use my contacts to ensure that all voices are heard and by working closely with councilors and the Mayor i can make sure that issues that concern young people will be shared with them.
Votes at 16 -
I'm sure you have all heard about the campaign led by young people across the country to allow young people from the age of 16 to take part in the nation's democratic voting process. The people who lead us all say that young people are the future, however, if we are the future then why aren't we allowed to vote on matters that will affect our future. If we are allowed to smoke at the age of 16, have intercourse at the age of 16, and join the army at 16 why are we not allowed to vote on matters that concern us?
If I am elected as an MYP for Birmingham I will tirelessly fulfill that votes at 16 become a priority for those who are leading the people of this country. I will fulfill my promise by working with other MYPs across the country so we can work as a strong collective and voice that young people want to see a real change that can benefit the future and this is only possible through allowing young people to be part of the democratic voting process.
I may have not spoken about all the points i have listed but i also have many more points to make. Having MYP’S is not only democratic but it gives a chance for all young people to represent their communities from the perspective of a young person. One thing that i always tell myself is to define my role into what i want and to always no matter what voice the opinions of young people as everyone deserves to be heard. I don't want to be seen as a leader instead i want to be seen as young person who is led by the young people of birmingham and to advocate for all young people whoever they may be.