In the mood to hear something adorable? Well, you’re in luck because Rotterdam has a new mayor — a child mayor, to be exact.
Yup, last week, Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb appointed young Dominique to be Rotterdam’s child mayor for the upcoming school year. 👑
To help out with her duties, the city also appointed Mehdi, Yara, Anuska and Alissia as children’s city council members, Gemeente Rotterdam reports.
Together, they will serve as the spokespeople for all 120,000 children in Rotterdam.
Welcome, Mayor Dominique
Last year’s mayor, Louey, has abdicated his child mayor throne, passing the position onto his successor, Dominique.
Apparently, young Dominique was dreaming of becoming mayor for a while and is thrilled with her “really cool” new role since it means she can “really do something” for the children in her city. Precious. ❤️
READ MORE | 5 reasons why Dutch kids are happier than American kids
The child mayor will have many of the same tasks as a “real” mayor, including ribbon-cutting, delivering speeches, and attending important events.
(Adult) mayor Aboutaleb is also pleased with the addition of new colleagues, adding that “if [the children] are happy, things go well in the city”.
Anti-discrimination and bullying
So what does the future hold for Rotterdam’s kinderburgemeester (child mayor)? Last week, the kids’ council discussed what themes they will pay special attention to this year.
The areas they want to place the most emphasis on are “climate, safety and bullying, integration and discrimination, greenery and poverty”. These are part of the “agenda” they will all carry out at their separate schools.
Mayor Dominique, in particular, feels discrimination and bullying are urgent issues she wants to help solve. Her goal is to make sure every child will “enjoy going to school”. Awww.
What are your thoughts on this heartwarming new addition to Rotterdam’s municipality? Let us know in the comments below!
