Page 46 - Real Rochdale Issue 14 Summer 2022
P. 46

HIGHLIGHTS OF A MAYORAL YEAR






                                                                                                                                    Councillor Aasim Rashid was the 150th Mayor of the Rochdale
                                                                                                                                     borough for the 2021-22 year. Here he talks to Real Rochdale

                                                                                                                                     about representing ethnic minorities, raising money for charity

                                                                                                                                                   and some of his favourite events of the year.


                                                                                                                                You’ve raised £15,000 in your Mayoral year.          racism. I belong to the BAME community and
                                                                                                                                Which causes will benefit from a donation?           we have many ethnic minorities in Rochdale,
                                                                                                                                                                                     and this is the beauty of this town: the strong
                                                                                                                                My chosen charities will receive the majority of     integration and multi-cultural society we have,
                                                                                                                                the monies raised:                                   and strong relationships with varying
                                                                                                                                                                                     communities. I am proud of the diversity, but I
                                                                                                                                     •  Parkinsons UK (Heywood)                      think we need to work more on
                                                                                                                                     •  Springhill Hospice                           -discouraging those who try to divide us. It still
                                                                                                                                     •  Petrus                                       exists in society and policies should be very
                                                                                                                                     •  Jolly Josh                                   strong. This is work we have to do collectively
                                                                                                                                     •  Rochdale Shopmobility                        within all political parties.

                                                                                                                                I will also be donating smaller amounts to a few     Which events really stood out to you?
                                                                                                                                small community groups or volunteer
                                                                                                                                organisations that need help. The main aim is to     The visit of the Pakistan High Commissioner in
                                                                                                                                help as many groups as possible as well as the       July 2021, the first visit for about 20-25 years.
                                                                                                                                volunteer sector.                                    This was a positive sign for both diplomatic and
                                                                                                                                                                                     trade relationships locally. We played a charity
                                                                                                                                My year started in a difficult time during           cricket match, which was my first event.
                                                                                                                                restrictions, so there were three months of
                                                                                                                                no activities. We slowly came back to normal         The visit of Little Amal was a really proud
                                                                                                                                life but we had to hold some events later than       moment and I was also really honoured to be
                                                                                                                                usual. The same thing happened at the start          part of a service at St Chad’s for the start of the
                                                                                                                                of 2022 because covid levels rose and we had         Queen’s Jubilee programme.
                                                                                                                                to cancel one of the main charity fundraisers,
                                                                                                                                Mayoress at Home. The mayoress was really            Did you find out anything new or surprising?
                                                                                                                                disappointed and we were expecting a high
                                                                                                                                turnout from across Greater Manchester.              I was able to meet a lot of new faces, new
                                                                                                                                                                                     businesses, volunteers and community groups
                                                                                                                                What were your focuses for the year?                 which I was not previously aware of. I believe I
                                                                                                                                                                                     learnt more in the last 12 months than the last
                                                                                                                                My first priority – like every mayor – was to        eight years as a councillor.
                                                                                                                                raise as much money as possible, and highlight
                                                                                                                                our borough across the UK. I was lucky to be         I now have more knowledge about my own
                                                                                                                                the 150th mayor of Rochdale as we celebrated         ward [Castleton] and the borough. I am really
                                                                                                                                150 years of the town hall. Showing our rich         proud of what I have achieved and how I have
                                                                                                                                history was a wonderful thing. I believe             served as a mayor. I think I had a very
                                                                                                                                Rochdale is one of the most beautiful, diverse       successful year and a lot of support from
                                                                                                                                towns in the borough.                                different groups, proving that if we work
                                                                                                                                                                                     together, we can deliver better.
                                                                                                                                Another focus was discouraging
                                                                                                                                discrimination, inequality and any kind of           I am really humbled.

          REAL ROCHDALE - summer 2022                       46                                                                                                                    47                     REAL ROCHDALE - summer 2022
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