Mayor for a Day, Naomi Chukwurah, wanted a behind-the-curtain look at what goes on at Calgary city hall, and she got it.

Chukwurah, a Grade 11 student from All Saints High School, was chosen in the competition through Youth Central’s Mayor’s Youth Council, which provides young Calgarians the opportunity to share their ideas on the future of Calgary.

The young woman, who one day envisions a career that combines politics and law, had a glimpse of the job that past winners haven’t received. The same day she attended city hall was a whirlwind of activity, as Country Thunder had announced the cancellation of its weekend festival.

The one thing that Chukwurah said surprised her about her time with Mayor Jeromy Farkas was how much he listened.

“I know politicians can, you see them a lot on the camera, where they talk, politicians can say the right things, I’ll tell you that for sure, but I think Mayor Farkas really listens to the people,” she said.  

“I’ve been in meetings today, I heard him on the podcast, and I was really intrigued by the fact of how he wasn’t pretending.”

Chukwurah was selected based on her submission, which she said was finished just two minutes before the competition deadline. In the submission, Chukwurah had to outline three primary initiatives that she thought could improve Calgary.

Those included an after-hours plan for Calgary’s libraries, recreation facilities and other community facilities to help provide a place for students, families, newcomers and shift workers to connect. Also, Chukwurah wanted to see student feedback incorporated into Calgary Transit planning, so service better reflected the needs of young Calgarians.

It also included a more robust winter strategy, which not only sought more activities for Calgarians to participate in, but a plan to help make the city more accessible in the winter so people could enjoy those events.

“I noticed Calgary is a bit less inviting and less accessible in some ways during the winter,” Chukwurak said.

“While we do have existing amazing winter initiatives already, I thought we could take it a step further, making Calgary one of the best places that everyone would want to be in the winter.”

Turning words into actions

Mayor Farkas said that this program has been around in one form or another for nearly 50 years. He said it’s a great conduit for young Calgarians to have a voice in shaping the City of Calgary.

“I want youth in Calgary to know you’re not just the leaders of tomorrow; you’re the leaders of today,” Farkas said.

“So, this is not just about a photo op, it’s about actually rolling up our sleeves, working with our policy team.”

Farkas said that Chukwurah had some good ideas on what the City of Calgary could do to help move the city forward. His commitment was that he would do something about them.

“We’re not just going to talk about the things that need to get done, we’re actually going to work together to be able to advance some of these priorities, specifically at the council table,” he said.

“We’re not just going to talk about things like better youth activity programming in the evenings, or winter transit strategies. We’re actually going to be advancing those through potential administrative inquiries or notices of motion.”

Jen Saj, the Youth Central Mayor’s Youth Council program coordinator, said that the program’s goal is to help amplify the voice of youth in cities. Those involved with the council also meet with the mayor a handful of times throughout the year.

“I think, as long as I’ve been with the program, so for three years we’ve had really good experience with the mayor listening to the ideas and the mayor’s office setting up really good conversations, so that the youth actually gets to discuss those ideas with the people who make those decisions,” she said.

Youth Central offers different volunteer and leadership opportunities for youth aged 12 to 18.