Mosaic Ambassador Rt Hon Sadiq Khan MP arranged for four budding future journalists from Islamia Girls’ School to attend an evening with Rt Hon Ed Miliband, the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party.

The event organised at the Islamic Cultural Centre in London involved over 500 Muslim community leaders from across the UK including women and youth groups. Mosaic Board members and other supporters were invited to this unique engagement event.

The four students welcomed Ed Miliband when he walked into the packed room and presented him with a bouquet of flowers. Ayisha Khan from Islamia Girls’ School was the first person to ask a testing question to the Leader of Opposition about the state of the economy and how this was affecting young people.

Ed Miliband was so impressed by the girls he asked to meet them after the event to find out more about them and to thank them for coming.

Ayisha Khan from Islamia Girls School said: “It was an amazing experience and I found the whole event very beneficial. I was nervous at first at the thought of speaking to a large audience,but it went very well. I felt honoured to have the opportunity to be part of such an event. The reason we chose my question about the recession is because we are doing our BBC school report this year and one of the topics we are interested in is the recession as it has impacted on the lives of everyone in the country,one way or another. After the event we were called back to meet Mr Miliband privately which was very exciting for me. We were able to speak with him and took some photographs. Overall it was a phenomenal experience and I am very grateful I was given the opportunity to attend this event I feel like this has helped me gain confidence as I spoke in front of a large audience.”

Rt Hon Sadiq Khan said: “I am proud of the confidence and knowledge shown by the Islamia students. Asking the first question before more than 500 adults with cameras and journalists present is not easy. The students set the tone for the evening and showed just how promising the future is. It is crucial that both politicians and ordinary citizens do a better job engaging with each other. To see young British Muslim girls get involved in the way the Islamia students did fills me with huge optimism.”

Find out more about Mosaic’s Secondary School Mentoring Programme.