To receive announcements from the new Mayor.
Minutes:
9.1 The Mayor spoke of the challenge of becoming Mayor during a global pandemic, at a time of such huge change in peoples’ daily lives and uncertainty about the future causing anxiety and fear about whether things would ever be normal again. Many people were having to change the way they lived and worked, as the council was: Waverley officers had responded magnificently, as had Waverley Members who had changed how they worked in order to take part in remote meetings.
9.2 The impacts of the pandemic would surely be felt for years to come, but change was not always a bad thing, and sometimes things needed to change, as highlighted by the Black Lives Matter movement. The Mayor read out a statement on behalf of Waverley Borough Council to demonstrate that we stand with people in the black community:
As community leaders, we oppose all racism, discrimination and hate and promote equality.
Waverley Borough Council stands alongside those who are appalled and saddened by the loss of George Floyd in Minneapolis, US. His shocking death highlights the injustices endured by black people on a daily basis in America and has also made us face up to the inequalities experienced by black communities here in the UK.
Now is the time to stand with the black community and all those who are racially oppressed - as we always strive to ensure our borough supports and treats everyone fairly, regardless of age, race, gender or sexual orientation.
We are reconfirming our commitment to address inequality and injustice in our own borough. We will consider and reflect on how we can do more to make a difference and will outline what steps we will take towards this shortly. But, in the meantime, let’s start this work today: let’s start by us all committing to actively seeing, listening and educating ourselves on the injustices faced by our black residents, officers and communities across the UK. Let’s be role models in empathy, kindness and standing up for what is right. Let’s use our position and privilege to make this borough a fairer, safer and more equal borough for everyone.
9.3 The Mayor went on to highlight the impact of the pandemic on children and young people, whose school, college and university studies had been disrupted, and leisure activities curtailed. The three charities she had chosen for her Mayoral year helped young people deal with these challenges:
Home-start Waverley was a charity which supported young mothers and helped them cope with having a baby and dealing with bringing up a baby.
40 Degreez Centre which was a local charity providing a venue for all young people in the Farnham area, from 10 to 25 years, to meet in a safe and informal environment supporting a variety of leisure, social and advisory activities, including a youth café/drop-in; clubs, groups and youth support organisations; and targeted work with young people at risk of social or educational exclusion.
Sea Cadets and in particular the cadets at TS Swiftsure. They had had a challenging time recently, needing to replace the roof of their hall and then having a break in and theft of equipment and band instruments. The Mayor read the story of Daniel, a young sea cadet, who had developed through his time at Swiftsure, gone on to start a career, and then returned to the cadets as an adult volunteer and helped the unit grow from 50 to 70 cadets.
9.4 The Mayor recognised that her year as Mayor would be unusual, and she would be looking at how the internet could be used to help promote her charities and help them raise funds.