27 September 2022 | 30 minutes
Jeffrey Young is joined by Councillor Nasim Ali OBE, the Mayor of Camden. In this episode, they discuss the Mayor’s journey to becoming the first British Bangladeshi and Muslim Mayor of Camden, as well as being the youngest Mayor in the country at that time, and how he has returned as Mayor of Camden for the second time. They explore his community projects, his aim to improve the lives of women and families in the Borough, and the important work done by his nominated charity the Hopscotch Women’s Centre. Most importantly, we learn about Councillor Ali’s life in Camden, and importantly his love for the Borough.
This will be his second term as Mayor of Camden. He was Mayor 19 years ago and was the first Bangladeshi and Muslim Mayor and was also the youngest Mayor in the country at the time. As a child he attended Netley
Primary School and Sir William Collins Secondary School, now known as Regent High School. Nasim went on to become a co-opted Governor of South Camden Community School, and completed his distance learning degree in Informal and Community Education and graduated from the University of Kent in 2001.
Since the age of 14, he has been involved in voluntary work. He has always been interested in working with people for the benefit of people. Nasim is a keen football fan and has used football as a way of bringing people together. In 1995, he set up the Camden United project, using football to bring together conflicting groups of Bangladeshi and white youths. The project received various local and national awards, including recognition from the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE). The current Camden United project has players of 15 different nationalities.
In 2011 Nasim was awarded the OBE during the Queen’s New Year’s Honours for services to the voluntary sector and to local government.