Thymen becomes the new children’s mayor of Amsterdam
Thymen (12) from the Centrum district is a year of the new children’s mayor of Amsterdam. Today Thymen was elected by the new children’s council. Mayor Halsema has today installed both the children’s mayor and the children’s council in the council chamber of the town hall.
Thymen: “I am happy to be the mayor of children next year. During this period I want to devote myself to fighting poverty among children in Amsterdam. No child in our city should grow up in poverty.”
Role of children’s mayor and children’s council
The children’s mayor tells the municipal executive what children find important and what their wishes are for the city. He is assisted in this by the children’s council. The children’s mayor with the mayor of an alderman goes to special events, and sometimes gives a short speech. The members of the Children’s Council ensure that the wishes and ideas of children end up on the agenda of Amsterdam politics. They draw up a list of topics that they consider important and think about how things can be improved in the city. They meet twelve times. The members of the children’s council also act as deputy mayor on occasion. This year the children’s council consists of 16 children’s council members: the children’s council members represent all children from the seven city districts and the Weesp urban area.
New children’s mayor and children’s council
The term of the current children’s mayor Angel and the children’s council ended today. That is why the municipality of Amsterdam has been looking for a new children’s mayor and new members for the children’s council in recent months. Amsterdam students from groups 7 and 8 could sign up for this. Anne Martien van der Does, existing children’s mayor Angel and current presenter of Hethuis Pascal Tan. Five children were chosen by the jury, and the new children’s council members then mutually chose which of these five will become the children’s mayor.
More information
For more information, go to Amsterdam.nl/kinderraad.
Photographer: Marcel Israel