Weekly Column: Mayor Mohammed Zaman
Date published: 14 February 2019
Mayor Mohammed Zaman
Week commencing Monday 4 – Sunday 10 February
Monday, I was invited to the Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre for the official launch of Hate Crime Awareness Week. I attended along with local authorities, the community safety team and the public.
Footlights performed a play on hate crime which explored experiences of discrimination through personal stories and the consequences hate crime such as homophobia, racism and stereotypes can have. It was a very touching experience that really made me reflect on whether I have seen or heard hate crimes before and not done anything to help.
A presentation by Aaron Doherty from Footlights Theatre was also provided, informing us of what services were available to him and how he has turned the hate crime experience into something positive.
Thank you to Aaron for speaking and to District Chief Inspector, Mark Warner, for informing us of how to report hate crime. We all have a collective responsibility to act and report a hate crime if we witness or experience it.
I visited Montague’s Café inside Rochdale’s Riverbank Market to speak to them about donating free meal vouchers for a raffle I am holding at the Mayor’s Ball. Rochdale town centre is on an up at the moment with plenty of nice places to visit and eat at, and the regeneration will continue to improve facilities further.
Monday evening, I was invited to the Unitarian Church on Clover Street for the Friends of Bielefeld AGM. Bielefeld in Germany is another of Rochdale’s twin towns with a link going back as far as the 1950’s. The Friends of Bielefeld host regular visits where people from Rochdale stay with families in Bielefeld and those from Bielefeld also come to Rochdale in exchange.
I had the honour to attend their annual general meeting and meet some members who had been involved with the group for a very long time and maintain the strong connection.
Tuesday, I was invited to visit Renaissance House on Drake Street after meeting the manager, Caroline Page, at another event. The Renaissance complex dependency service provides a valuable service for residents in Rochdale who suffer with mental health problems, as well as housing/homelessness, domestic abuse and substance misuse problems.
It was nice to visit and I want to send a huge thank you to the team there who do their best to help others all year round in Rochdale. I and many others appreciate the work you do.
I also visited a new local travel agent, Hays Travel, who recently opened their doors on Yorkshire Street. I was on holiday when the business officially opened, so I wanted to go and see how they were doing.
We discussed the Mayor’s Ball to see if they would like to offer a raffle prize of a European trip for 2, with the funds raised from the raffle going towards the Mayor’s Charity.
I invited Falinge Park High School students and teachers to the Mayor’s Parlour. I invited them to join me at the town hall after I was so impressed by their win and the topic they discussed at the Youth Public Speaking event at the school.
It is always positive to see young people empowered with confidence as they are supported by their school, their friends and their parents to achieve and be encouraged to take part in things like this. Thank you to the Rotary Club of Rochdale for organising the annual speech event, it truly is a great investment in young people.
Lastly, on Tuesday evening my daughter, mayoress Naaira Zaman, joined me as we held a Mayoress at Home meeting. This is an annual event organised by the Mayoress of Rochdale to raise funds for the Mayor’s Charity Appeal.
This year, Naaira has chosen the theme of International Women’s Week to highlight the achievements of women at local, national and international level with some amazing women attending including Sue Devaney and a group of Bollywood dancers.
More information on the event can be found here:
Wednesday, I attended another Hate Crime Awareness Week event at Communitea Rooms, Yorkshire Street along with local people and local organisations. I was happy to see locals attending to ask questions, learn more information and share their experiences with hate crime.
Thank you to Tasneem and the management at Communitea Rooms for organising this event in honour of the week, which was sponsored by Rochdale Council. Thank you to Sajid Miah and Carl Lowe from the Community Safety Team for also attending.
Thursday, I attended the monthly Mayor’s Charity meeting to discuss how we can continue to raise funds for my six charities: Springhill Hospice, Parkinsons UK, British Heart Foundation, Petrus, MoorEnd Trust and Rochdale Community Partnership at the Mayor’s Ball in April.
Friday, I was invited to two dinners; one at Castlemere Community Centre to celebrate the re-launch of the Pakistan Welfare Association and one at Rochdale Masonic Hall to celebrate 29 years of Rochdale Lions Club.
The Pakistan Welfare Association was originally established in the 1960’s, when people from Pakistan began to arrive in Rochdale. As the founding members grew older with ill health, the association couldn’t continue, however it has recently been re-launched and the group have put on many events at Pakistan House on Lower Tweedale Street.
I want to congratulate and thank the members and Mr Pasha and Haji Mohammed Din on the re-launch, and I hope the association will continue to provide a good service to the community as they bring communities together.
At Rochdale Masonic Hall, I learnt that there are 1.5 million people around the globe who are members of a Lions club. The clubs have four areas of service that aim to improve the lives of millions of people including saving sight, supporting youth, providing disaster relief and meeting humanitarian needs.
The members organise annual events in different locations according to the four pillars, where members from different Lions clubs around the country attend and develop their network with others.
I enjoyed the charter dinner for their 29th anniversary and meeting all the kind members. My daughter, Mayoress Naaira Zaman, also had a really good time.
Thank you to Ken Ash, the president of Rochdale Lions Club, Eileen Taylor and all the other members who invited me and organised such an entertaining evening for good causes. A big thank you for their kind donation to the Mayor’s Charity Appeal too. It is always appreciated, and I am honoured to attend these engagements.
Saturday, I had no engagements.
Sunday, I was invited by councillor Peter Rush to attend Rochdale Hornets rugby match against Toronto Wolfpack from Canada at the Crown Oil Arena.
Even with the cold weather there was good attendance and it was a good opportunity for me to meet with sponsors and the players from both teams. Rochdale Hornets tried their best to keep up with the pressure from the Toronto Wolfpack but unfortunately, we lost despite their best efforts.
I’m not a big fan of rugby but I really enjoyed this event and always enjoy supporting local sports teams.
Thank you to Peter who is also the chairperson of Rochdale Hornets and councillor Ray Dutton for looking after me on the day and to councillor John Blundell and Tony Lloyd MP for being part of the Mayor’s party. Thank you also to Quirky Kitchen Catering Company for providing such a delicious meal.
Mayoral invitations
The Mayor welcomes invitations to events held by local organisations and individuals. Due to demand, it may not be possible for the Mayor to attend every event he is invited to.
To invite the Mayor to your event please complete the Mayor attendance form and return it to the Mayor's Officer.
Visit: www.rochdale.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/mayors/Pages/mayoral-invitations.aspx
Email: mayoral@rochdale.gov.uk
Tel: 01706 924773
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