Mete is an actor. Not an actor in the movie sense of the word. He is an actor as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary: “one that takes part”.
Watch the full interview episode now: https://youtu.be/Hs3gUUJz6YM
In this interview, Mete shares his story: He grew up in Hackney, in a flat so small, that his family did not have space for a dining table. As a kid, we would frequent his local youth club. Then, suddenly, it was shut down. Angered by its shutting, confused by the casual closure of a place he saw as second home, stupefied by the lack of response, Mete decided to act. Following the advice of his mentors, he decided not to stand idly by in the face of decline. Mete decided to do something about it. He founded his own community of young people, which has now gone on to engage and inspire and educate thousands worldwide.
In our conversation, we discuss:
- Why did Mete become a politician?
- Why does he commit to public service, when many folk from our backgrounds don’t?
- 7% of people in his area die of issues related to air pollution. How did he address this problem as Cabinet Member, appointed by Mayor Philip Glanville?
- How does he make tough political decisions?
- What are the characteristics of an ideal political leader?
- What challenges did he face in setting up and running a national charity, MyLifeMySay?
The conversation was recorded when Boris Johnson was still Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. We now have a new Prime Minister in Liz Truss, who has had a rocky start to her premiership, taking on major foreign policy challenges in Ukraine, the cost of living crisis, and the drop in value of the Great British Pound. We are also in political party conference season 2022, with the Labour and Conservative parties gathering to organise and state their case to the nation for why they are the best group to lead. Politics and politicians matter, as their decisions shape our lives. That is why I am more than happy that the school gives a platform to leaders like Mete who seek to develop the new generation of political leaders: Our democracy is stronger for it.
If there are two things I take from this chat, here they are: 1. Aspiring political leaders must uncover and commit to values which then guide the decisions they make. Mete’s stated values include integrity and empathy. These principles are necessary for good leadership; 2. our future and present depends on a constant and consistent development of new leaders who can step up and act. We need more and better actors on the political stage. People who do, and act, for the people. Just like those football clubs which have solid youth development programmes, with their state-of-art training facilities and top coaches our experts, our democratic systems need investment and belief in those who are to become our decision-makers.
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Full interview available now:
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/Hs3gUUJz6YM
- Spotify: https://anchor.fm/school-of-social-justice/episodes/Why-do-people-become-politicians--Interview-with-Cllr-Mete-Coban-MBE--Founding-CEO-of-MyLifeMySay-and-Cabinet-member-for-environment-and-transport-at-Hackney-Council-e1oekiq
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Hope you enjoy the conversation, and learn as much as I did. And I hope that you are able to use the lessons to go on and change the world.
Alvin
Founding Director
schoolofsocialjustice.com