Murat Yildirim

I’m 38, married, and I have two girls of 8 years and 4 months and a half respectively. I come from Turkey, but I have lived in London for 24 years now. I’ve been living in Haringey for the past 6 years, but working here for about a decade. I love the cultural diversity of the borough, where all cultures intermingle in harmony. It is a richness that I really appreciate. I would describe Haringey as one of the most colourful boroughs in London.

Here I work as project manager of an association called My Muzik: I run all the projects, which concern mainly the teaching of Turkish and Kurdish culture and musik. We don’t want to touch religious or political matters. Our focus is on the spreading of knowledge. What we do is very important, because of the crime issues in Haringey. As many other organizations here, we provide services that keep young people off the streets.

When I first arrived in London I was only 14 and couldn’t speak the language, I didn’t know lots of things, but gradually I integrated in the community and now I consider this to be my home. Therefore I feel it’s my duty to give back to the community what I got in the first place. What I would also say to future leaders is that it is fundamental that they learn properly from the current leaders, s that they can pass the knowledge on, in a positive chain.