{"id":10974,"date":"2022-04-26T10:24:22","date_gmt":"2022-04-26T08:24:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rotterdammakeithappen.nl\/verhalen\/young-pioneer-wants-to-shape-rotterdam-into-a-green-and-fair-city\/"},"modified":"2025-11-08T00:38:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T22:38:04","slug":"young-pioneer-wants-to-shape-rotterdam-into-a-green-and-fair-city","status":"publish","type":"verhaal","link":"https:\/\/rotterdammakeithappen.nl\/en\/stories\/young-pioneer-wants-to-shape-rotterdam-into-a-green-and-fair-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Young pioneer wants to shape Rotterdam into a green and fair city"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\">[vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/1&#8243;][vc_column_text]Student Mina Morko\u00e7 (24) was recently sworn in as a member of the Rotterdam City Council. She studies Law and Tax Law at Erasmus University Rotterdam and has been politically active since her very first year as a student.<br \/>Where does that drive come from?<br \/>\u201cAt home, I was taught how important it is to know your rights and to make use of them,\u201d Mina explains.<br \/>\u201cIf you have rights, you protect them and you fight for them \u2014 that\u2019s what I learned.\u201d<br \/>Her political interest was sparked at age 18 during the U.S. elections, when Bernie Sanders brought attention to issues like equality and the environment.<br \/>\u201cI thought: how does that work here in the Netherlands? So I started looking into it. The following year were the municipal elections, and I just walked into the GroenLinks office and introduced myself: \u2018Hi, I\u2019m Mina, I brought cookies.\u2019\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/1&#8243;][vc_custom_heading]All students represent[\/vc_custom_heading][vc_column_text]Student and Council Member<br \/>In the 2022 municipal elections, Mina received the most preference votes after the party leader \u2014 earning her a seat on the city council.<br \/>\u201cI want to represent all students and stay in close contact with them,\u201d she says.<br \/>Balancing two studies and a council position keeps her busy \u2014 but that doesn\u2019t bother her.<br \/>\u201cI\u2019ve always been busy. I enjoy doing a lot of things. Of course, not everything always goes perfectly \u2014 sometimes it\u2019s too much. But I\u2019m learning what I need and I\u2019ve stopped feeling guilty about taking a day off when I need it.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n[vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/1&#8243;][vc_custom_heading]A green and fair future for Rotterdam\u2019s youth[\/vc_custom_heading][vc_column_text]Standing Up for Young People<br \/>Having grown up in several different Rotterdam neighborhoods, Mina sees how much where you live influences how connected you feel to politics.<br \/>\u201cJust look at the differences in voter turnout between neighborhoods. There are so many places in Rotterdam where people simply don\u2019t vote. They\u2019ve lost faith in politics or feel excluded from the conversation.\u201d<br \/>She wants to change that:<br \/>\u201cI want young people to have a green and fair future, and to have a place where they can be heard. In everything I do, I want to bring the perspective of young people into the discussion.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/1&#8243;][vc_custom_heading]Working on a better world[\/vc_custom_heading][vc_column_text]Advice for Other Students. Mina is eager to connect:<br \/>\u201cGet in touch with me, send a message \u2014 I have my own website where you can find my details.\u201d<br \/>And she leaves fellow students with one last piece of advice:<br \/>\u201cDon\u2019t be afraid to start something alongside your studies! It\u2019s great to broaden your interests while studying. Even if it means a bit of delay \u2014 it\u2019s worth it if you\u2019re working toward a better world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/1&#8243;][vc_column_text]Student Mina Morko\u00e7 (24) was recently sworn in as a member of the Rotterdam City Council. She studies Law [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":3870,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-10974","verhaal","type-verhaal","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Young pioneer wants to shape Rotterdam into a green and fair city - Rotterdam Make It Happen<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rotterdammakeithappen.nl\/en\/stories\/young-pioneer-wants-to-shape-rotterdam-into-a-green-and-fair-city\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Young pioneer wants to shape Rotterdam into a green and fair city - Rotterdam Make It Happen\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/1&#8243;][vc_column_text]Student Mina Morko\u00e7 (24) was recently sworn in as a member of the Rotterdam City Council. 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