On Wednesday 6th November, Lewisham’s Young Mayor’s project celebrated its 20th anniversary.

The event took place at the Civic Suite, Lewisham Town Hall, which is where the youth group meet weekly for their meetings.

The Young Mayor’s project is comprised of a young person who is elected yearly, the young advisors and the youth workers and organisations who support the young people.

The event consisted of speeches from several key figures, a panel discussion with the old and the current young mayor, and two musical performances from current young advisors.

Furthermore, there were aspects of the other projects that the young mayor’s team are currently working on, for example, an archive of old projects and interviews for Radio Lewisham, which is Lewisham’s dedicated radio station for young people.

Lewisham’s Young Mayor’s project is the oldest in London, and when the UK was in the EU, young advisors travelled to other European countries like Sweden to set up similar projects.

The night was an opportunity for both old and current young advisors and mayors to meet each other, speak about how the project impacted them and reflect on their memories.

As well as the young advisors and mayors, many high-ranking members of the Lewisham council attended, including the Mayor of Lewisham (Brenda Dacres), the Executive Director for Children and Young People (Pinaki Ghoshai) and one of the founders of the Young Mayor’s Project and previous Mayor (Steve Bullock).

“It was a fantastic night. It was so nice to see the older people, and see what they were up to, and to also have the current young advisors with us,

Said Katy Brown, who works with the young mayor’s team and has done for twenty years. 

“It was amazing to have our archive, so that we can look back through the years, and when our current young advisors are older, they can see themselves.”

The team organising it, which consisted of former and current young advisors, were given a budget from Lewisham council, allowing them to decorate the Civic suite with lights and have catering from a local Caribbean restaurant.

As a result of the celebration, an alumni group has been formed for previous young mayors and young advisors.

For twenty years, Lewisham has been inspiring young people to take an active role in local governance.

Lewisham has proven the capabilities of young people in democracy and hopefully inspire other areas to follow suit.

Thanks to the Young Mayor’s Project, young people in Lewisham set up initiatives as young mayors, sit on council committees for Children and Young People and have their voices heard by a variety of decision-makers.