Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Tamlyn Shimizu: Welcome to Smart in the City, the BABLE podcast, where we bring together top actors in the smart city arena, sparking dialogues and interactions around the stakeholders and themes most prevalent for today's citizens and tomorrow's generations. I'm your host, Tamlin Shimizu, and I hope you enjoy this episode and gain knowledge and connections to accelerate the change for a better urban life.
So today we are back with another episode and with our Mayor's series that's ongoing, where I get to talk to really influential and wonderful leaders doing amazing things in their communities, really explore how that leadership is transforming cities, large, small, everything in between. So today we will explore the intersections of advocacy, humanitarian work and public leadership. And who better to guide us through that journey than our guest here today?
Her name is Shahin Ashraf. She's the mayor of the Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in the uk. Welcome, Shaheen.
[00:00:58] Shahin Ashraf: Thank you. Nice to have you.
[00:01:01] Tamlyn Shimizu: I always like to start with a little bit of a warm up question to get us going. The question I have for you is what's one little known or surprising fact about Solihull that you think more people should know?
[00:01:18] Shahin Ashraf: Well, I think Solihull is a bustling metropolitan town that is an absolutely amazing place to be. It is the economic hub of the world Midlands.
[00:01:30] Tamlyn Shimizu: There you go. Yeah, I think we'll get a little bit more into that also later. Can you paint, but can you paint a picture very clearly for people who have never heard of Solihull before, what really builds its unique DNA?
[00:01:50] Shahin Ashraf: So Solihull is. It is the bypass between London and Manchester.
We are an economic hub. We have the international airport here. We have what we call the National Exhibition Centre. We have where all the concerts come in.
So that it's economic side from it has the most brilliant parks. We've been awarded green flags for our parks. It has a bustling community.
We have around 239,000 people within the borough.
We have rich colleges and the best one of the boroughs that has probably the best schools within the West Midlands. So in itself we have, you know, we have brilliant citizens who are up and down the North Solihull and South Solihull. One thing I probably will say is that there is an economic divide between the North Solihull and South Solihull in which there is a life expectancy gap, which is an interesting fact. So there's more that needs to be done and I guess part of that is how do we bridge those divides that we currently see.
[00:03:01] Tamlyn Shimizu: Okay, good. Yeah, thanks for painting that picture. I think it makes It a lot more clear.
Could you now tell me about you as a person? What's your background and how did you become mayor?
[00:03:16] Shahin Ashraf: Well, so that's an interesting question. I didn't set out to be a politician, I didn't plan to be a leader here. I didn't even dream it.
So my story starts from, you know, being a. I'll start off when I was a nine year old and when I was a young girl learning to care for my father who battled serious mental health, mental illness. And at nine years old, whilst my peers were playing, I was memorizing medications like Fluflenazine and Trifuloporozine and Diazepam, words that became part of my vocabulary long before division.
Whilst others sat in classrooms, I sat in waiting rooms and pharmacies, learning about care, patients and advocacy in the most purest, probably and the most human way that I could. And part of that narrative is also I grew up in a time where there was so much unrest, you know, in the 80s, amid riots, amid racial tensions and resilience. So there was joy back then.
Bigwheel, Wham, Rick Astley, Bangra, all those things. But one of the things is libraries became my refuge as a nine year old and, and those stories, stories that opened my mind to injustice across the world.
So as I was growing up, whilst I finished my. The equivalent of GCSE. GCSEs, I started work at the age of 17 with, having said that before, before that at 12, I had my first business cards because I had to try and get the taxi fare to go and see my father in the hospital.
And so what I did was started off having business cards at the age of 12 which I would help people to fill out their forms for 25 pence in order to get enough money to go to get a taxi to see my father. I was his interpreter as well. So therefore I felt that the burden for me was great because I was there to advocate for him. So then came Bosnia. So then I started working for the Department of Employment at the job center.
And it was a natural progression to what I'd already been doing from the age of 12. So then came Bosnia in 1992, and I find myself at the front line of something that changed me forever. I'd been working in the employment services since 1989 and I witnessed the arrival of Bosnian refugees, survivors of genocide. They came with horror in their eyes. The stories that they told of sexual violence, mass rape, torture, all kind of imprinted in my soul. And that's where my journey into humanitarianism began and I wasn't reading about injustice, I was actually holding its hand.
In 1993, I moved to the United States and helped found one of the largest Muslim led INGOs. And we built the first free clinic in Los Angeles. We delivered aid.
But then here's the interesting thing.
In 1994, an earthquake left me homeless and stateless in the biggest, the best nation on this earth, as they call themselves. I stood in a deportation line, once again a refugee, but nothing with my clothes on my back. I told the officer I'm British, but because he only wanted documents, I didn't have any documents because everything was in the building that had a massive crack in it. So I couldn't go back.
So for three months, I had no home. And yet strangers blessed them, opened their doors. And from that moment, I promised myself that if I ever had a chance to lead, I'd lead with empathy. So on returning back to the UK after being stationed in Afghanistan, stationed in Pakistan, stationed in places like Ethiopia, I returned to the UK carrying those stories, those scars and that fire in my belly. And I've spent years working in conflict zones. I saw girls who denied education, who later became doctors. I saw war survivors becoming leaders. And I knew I had to serve, not just globally, but here at home. So a couple of years ago, I put my hat in the ring.
I did come to this council when they said, all Muslims go back home. One of the local councillors had made a hate speech. I'd come off a flight from Brussels talking about the EU and humanitarian access and impediments. Came off a flight, came outside the council and there was one woman protest for about three days outside the council.
And somebody asked me if I wanted to become a councillor and I said yes, and I will always be grateful to them. And then campaign ensued. I became a councillor, and then five years later, I am now the mayor of Solihull.
I did so not as a career politician, but as someone who knows what it means to feel invisible, what it means to be silenced and to lose everything. So my mission here this year was simple. To make everyone in Solihull feel seen. And that meant I went where people were, at food banks, at temples, at care homes, at youth centers. Well, actually, there's no youth centers where youth gather. It meant turning listening into action.
Because without that listening, without that commitment, this is all just noise and people deserve better.
[00:09:04] Tamlyn Shimizu: Really amazing story. Thanks so much for sharing. I love your approach of bringing these experiences and this empathy into your position today on a local level.
Can you elaborate a little Bit more maybe around how these international experiences have further informed your approach to addressing specific local challenges. Maybe if you can dig in a little bit deeper. I know you've alluded to that already, but would love a bit more on that.
[00:09:40] Shahin Ashraf: So I see that progress is never perfect.
I also see one of our biggest challenges is complacency, the sense that we've done enough. We haven't.
Inclusion takes constant effort. Real change doesn't come from reports. It comes from risk, it comes from courage. It comes from love, I guess.
And I think part of that, to the question that you're asking is what is it that I can again, you know, what is it the thing that drives my leadership?
It's about service in this space. It's about digital innovation, human innovation. It's about communities coming together. It's about children who I've seen, who've written their first poem.
It's about carers getting a night's rest. It's about refugees finding a home.
And I guess that's probably shaped to some extent some of the questions that you asked.
[00:10:42] Tamlyn Shimizu: Yeah, absolutely.
Can you elaborate a bit more on what your key goals were? Going into the mayorship position and looking back now, how have those goals progressed?
[00:10:58] Shahin Ashraf: So, in my leadership position, again, one of the things is, if I started the year, I started off with difficulties in the sense that I am the 71st mayor of Solihull, the first female Asian, Muslim woman, brown person of all the DEI characteristics that you wanted. And I think if I'm looking back at the year now, what I would do differently is I'd push louder. And I wish I had done it sooner, I'd challenge some of the systems a bit harder because time is precious and people are waiting.
So for me, understanding that I would have done. But one of the other things is that there was a lot of courage and I still have that courage to be able to do all those things.
And I would say that one of the goals, when I think about the vision I set out, was about unity.
And for me, I feel as though, obviously I haven't united anyone, I haven't united everyone. But what I did do is rebuild from those spaces that were missing. So when I've worked in, like, for example, Afghanistan, Somalia, Ethiopia, I've seen women rebuild their lives from rubble. I've seen humanity at its worst. But what I've seen in this year is humanity at its best.
And it's actually important for me in Solihull, inclusion isn't just a buzzword to me, it's a lived Experience. I know what it means to be unseen. So when someone shares a concern, I don't file it away. I follow up, I connect, I act. We often say we're listening, but people want to feel it. So we show up, not just in meetings, but in food banks, in all the spaces, in schools, in care homes. Yet again I've met so many hundred year olds.
So when I became mayor in my mayor year, I had one clear mission. To bring those voices from the margins into the centre.
And I wanted to make sure that the carer, the refugee, the elderly widow, the lonely teen orphan heard those with mental health, those who have special education needs. And they're not just heard, but empowered. And I believe that in this year we've made progress. We've connected dots between services and people, we've highlighted hidden heroes, we've planted seeds for long term decision making or inclusion. But there's still so much to do. And this is where I say the biggest challenge is around complacency.
[00:13:58] Tamlyn Shimizu: When you said that you wish you would have pushed harder on some of the systems, which systems would you push harder on? If you could go back and how would you push?
[00:14:17] Shahin Ashraf: I would have pushed on.
So earlier on in the year, in my Merrill year, we had the far right walk through the middle of the town.
And part of that was what is the message that they're sending out?
And I think part of that is how would we challenge the narrative that is becoming so obvious that the othering of people.
And I guess part of that is challenges in the very systems that allow for that to happen. So where there's misinformation and disinformation challenging on that, I would, you know, and I'll go back when the genocide in Bosnia happened, we allowed the far right rhetoric to creep in through those cracks because it started with dehumanizing people. The words that were used in those challenges, the normalization of hate happen.
And it became more urgent, right, that normalization.
Because I've seen it. I see where silence leads. I saw it in Bosnia. I hear it in the stories of survivors.
In my opinion, genocide doesn't begin with weapons. It begins with words. Those whispers, those dog whistles. And before you know it, whole communities are demonised.
And as mayor I've tried to bring those people together to build those bridges, not walls. But now I realize we must also be bold enough to call out what divides us. Because we cannot allow for racism, xenophobia, extremism to dress itself as patriotism. Not just in a solid hole and definitely not on My watch.
[00:16:32] Tamlyn Shimizu: Yeah. Really good words there.
When you're talking about these things, I'm wondering, in a very practical sense, what do you think is missing from the equation or that you don't have enough of to really accelerate this change that you're talking about?
[00:16:51] Shahin Ashraf: I think part of that is educating people.
And how do we educate people in that? And part of that is when you have young people in which they access to TikTok and other things.
Part of the practical reflection on that is change through education, ensuring that my role as mayor ties in with the global experience and local leadership. For me, it is about seeing that I've seen, I've done misinformation, disinformation campaigns, and how we become better citizens.
And it isn't just about. I've seen when the rhetoric around the Irish happened in the 70s. It's the same rhetoric that is happening against various other communities. We shouldn't be marginalized in the space that we call a home.
But again, education must go beyond the academics that we see. We need to teach emotional intelligence. We need to teach digital literacy. We need to be able to understand what global citizenship means. We need to do critical thinking. We need our young people to recognize when they see it, so they call it out. Right?
So they question misinformation. Actually, that's not true about her or that's not true about him. Because the first thing that happened to me was when I became mayor, somebody, lots of people, particularly the far right, called it out. Look what Salihal has become. Muslims are taking over. And I think it's part of that when you recognize hate and when you see it and you challenge it. And I have to say, everywhere I've gone in the borough, north, south, east, or west, people have been absolutely brilliant.
You know, people are trying to put food on the table, hot food on the table. And I've had moms say, madam Mayor, we're the people that are being described on the tv. We don't hate you. We're just trying to put food on our tables. Can you help us do that? And I think when those things come out from the humanity. Humanity perspective, it also means that you're challenging some of the narratives. Look, investing in youth services, supporting schools to have those hard conversations, making sure that every child, no matter what their postcode background or ability is, has the tools to survive. Because if we want to truly accelerate change in Solihull, we have to start with our next generation. And I believe that part of that, today's conversations are about starting with the next generation.
[00:19:17] Tamlyn Shimizu: And starting with that education. Right. As a forefront and a focus.
[00:19:23] Shahin Ashraf: How so?
[00:19:25] Tamlyn Shimizu: I'm sure that. I know that you've probably faced a multitude of criticism. Of course, you already mentioned some, being the first of many, first woman, first Muslim, all of these firsts for you, that comes with a lot of criticism as well.
How have you been able to confront that criticism in a way that can lead to positive action?
[00:19:55] Shahin Ashraf: Huh? So that's an interesting question.
A lot of it is.
A lot of it is having the people that you expected to be on your journey in this leadership position, finding comfort in people that you never expected to find comfort from. So you could find in your leadership journey that you expected this group of people to be with you.
And suddenly you realize actually it's this group of people that are.
That are there beside you. You know, being the first Muslim mayor of Solihull has been both an honour for me and at times a challenge. Like you've said, it's been.
When you look at leadership, when you look different, when you pray differently, or you carry a name that sometimes people struggle to pronounce, it doesn't come without its criticism. I faced it subtle and direct, to be honest. The raised eyebrows, the unspoken assumptions, the messages that weren't about policy but about identity. But you know what? I never let that stop me. Because every time someone questions my place, I remember that little girl in Handsworth who told she wasn't belonging, who told she didn't belong around my remind myself I do not have to shrink in to spaces that were never designed for me. So I confront by showing up, by staying visible, by leading with integrity, by inviting those who are critical to the table. Because change for me does not happen from the echo chambers of people who are like minded to you. And more than that, because I'm very petite, I stand very tall for every child watching who looks like me, who feels like an outsider, children with special education needs, children who are struggling, children with mental health, all those things. And my leadership isn't just about decisions, it's about representation. It's about me. And I'm sure that the title, I say that the title mayor belongs to all of us and not just to me.
[00:22:10] Tamlyn Shimizu: Yeah, amazing words. So thanks so much for sharing those approaches. I think that's a really powerful message.
Can you. I'm also thinking, you know, from. From our work that we do, we focus a lot on, of course, helping practitioners at cities make the right steps, moving forward to meet their climate goals, to innovate effectively together with people.
Those type of Actions. And I'm just wondering from your perspective, how do we bring this leadership where you're focusing a lot on these great goals of inclusion, of community engagement, all of these, how can we bring these two worlds together, so to say? Because oftentimes there's this big divide between the political leadership and the practitioners on the ground.
[00:23:07] Shahin Ashraf: So I mean, I'm 1 in 50 women that pushes on climate change. And I had the absolute honor of meeting the Pope.
[00:23:14] Tamlyn Shimizu: Wow.
[00:23:16] Shahin Ashraf: Who sadly passed away earlier this week.
For me, I think the Laudato SI is a very, very important document from my, from the faith perspective.
So when I look at work of organizations like yourself who are pushing boundaries in this urban innovation, like in smart sustainable development, I do see hope because they're not just, you're not just talking about climate goals, you're talking about creating frameworks that cities can be built on actually and acted upon. So my challenge and my commitment as mayor is that we kind of need to be more forward thinking. In Solihull, for example, not in an abstract or track driven way, but in a deeply human one. The one thing that has connected me is that humanity. So we don't need to move, we don't move the needle on climate through reports alone. I sit at COP at the conference of parties every year and I know that this year it will be in Brazil.
I know countries like Bangladesh will be underwater. I know that actually if Solihull ends up being a three season climate where plants don't precipitate, that actually we will have the same wildfires as in California. Right.
So we don't need to move the dial needle on climate through reports alone. We move it in. Communities feel part of the solution.
So that means translating global goals into everyday relevance, planting in school gardens, greening our public spaces, helping families across energy efficient homes. Those two worlds together by bring those two worlds together by remembering that innovation and compassion are not opposites.
In fact, when we've done the right thing and when we're doing the right thing, they're the same thing. And leadership is for me on this journey is about making sure that no one is left behind on this journey. So whether it's through youth eco campaigns or partnering with forward thinking urban groups, we're proving that Solihull can be a local leader with global responsibility. Right. So it's about those smart cities that you, you know that we want to be able to build because it's for everyone. Everybody has a responsibility. So for me it isn't about just rising up from a ground, from you know, from this zero space, you're building on something that is being felt. So when you energize young people to talk about climate, it comes from a deep connection of fairness, of future proofing in a world that often feels uncertain. And it starts for me if you just look at Westminster's combined authority. So we're talking about devolution, right? Devolution is more than, for me, a politics. It's about empowerment. It's giving the cities and the regions themselves the freedom to make those decisions for themselves, tailored to the needs of the people. It's local leaders listening to local voices.
For example, it's like Manchester saying, we know what's best for Manchester. It's like Glasgow saying, actually, we know what's best for Glasgow. It's not about London saying what's best for Glasgow, it's not about London saying what's best for Manchester. But as co creators of the very cities that we want to build, and I think as citizens, we are the heartbeat of what I believe what you're doing is the heartbeat of this smart city that we want to create, right? We're the heartbeat of. We're not passive users, but we're active participants. We're not just data, we are the voices, we're not just the dreams. Because all those things matter.
And I believe that when we want to create what you're saying, how do you build into this space? It means that we listen, we learn, we adapt.
In my word vocabulary, I disrupt.
I build those systems that reflect the diversity of its people, right? And I think when you look at that, whether it's clean transport, whether it's affordable housing, whether it's accessible health care and tech that serves everyone, for me, that's how looking at the future means and what it means for us to be able to lead in innovation and compassion, which are not opposites.
[00:27:58] Tamlyn Shimizu: You said so many things that I really resonated with. I love the innovation together with compassion, also the word that you use to disrupt. Because we often talk about technology and innovation disrupting, but there are so many ways also that you have to disrupt, to push forward with change and to innovate more effectively. So I love those things that you mentioned is there now we come to the section where I like to give you space for anything that we didn't get the chance yet to talk about.
Is there something that you think is really relevant for the listeners to know that maybe we didn't yet touch on or that you want to elaborate more on?
[00:28:56] Shahin Ashraf: I guess it's about the Future.
What is the future that we're trying to create for our young people?
And how do we create that future for young people?
It's about giving people the space to be able to do that again. It's about where we see devolution.
It's absolutely an important way of understanding how we are as human beings, how we're going to tackle the very issues that will help us throughout our work.
What kind of solid hole do I want to leave behind? What kind of world are we building for the next generation? The future to me isn't just about policies or budgets, it's about people. It's about that young girl right now caring for her parent like I once did. It's about a boy who's just arrived here from a war torn country, wondering if he'll ever belong.
It's about someone sitting in silence, struggling with their mental health, not knowing where to turn. And I think the future is theirs and we have the responsibility today to ensure it's filled with hope, more hope than harm, more equity than exclusion, and making sure that we're embedding kindness into our systems. It means tackling the climate crisis, not as a technical challenge, because I deal with a lot of loss and damage and climate finance and the kind of all those technical narratives that we use at those very high levels.
But when you embed kindness into your systems, it means that tackling climate change is not just a technical issue challenge, but it's a moral one.
Right? It means redefining what success looks like. Not just GDP or infrastructure, but joy, health, connection and belonging. And in Solihull, as I look ahead, I don't see just problems, I see potential. Solihull and communities all around us can be places where smart innovation means soulful leadership. It means which no child is invisible, where every refugee is welcome, where community is our buzzword, it's a lifeline and we need to lead on that vision which is rooted in justice.
And I hope that the future is not just possible, that it's already beginning.
[00:31:31] Tamlyn Shimizu: Really good words to leave us on for our main interview. Now we go into our segment and the segment seems a bit redundant to me because you've already inspired us quite a lot with a lot of the words that you've said, a lot of the stories that you've told. But I'm wondering if this segment is called Inspire Us, where you inspire us with a story, a quote, or anything that has inspired you recently. So now's the time if you have a quote, a story, anything at all that you think would be very valuable to share with the audience. This is the time.
[00:32:14] Shahin Ashraf: Dr. Martin Luther King once said. Junior once said, we are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today and we are confronted with a fierce urgency of now.
Those words echo for me so deeply because I've seen what happens when we wait too long to act.
I've seen communities displaced.
I've seen voices that have been silenced.
I now see rights that are being stripped away.
The urgency of now means we cannot wait for the perfect moment to create change.
It means that we act even when the ground beneath us shakes, even when the voices around us question our place.
But as the mayor of Solihull and as a humanitarian and as someone who has lived through displacement and witnessed genocide, I carry that urgency with me into every room that I enter.
Because the future for me isn't built on silence or hesitation. It's built on courage and collective action. And as Dr. King said, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. And so I continue to fight in the council chamber, in the classrooms, in the communities, in the global platforms that we have until justice isn't a slogan for me. It's a lived reality for everyone.
[00:33:51] Tamlyn Shimizu: Thank you so much for inspiring us even more with that last piece.
Now we come to our recurring question. So question we ask every single guest that comes on, the question is to you. What is a smart city?
[00:34:09] Shahin Ashraf: Interestingly, I've already, I think I've kind of spoken about what a smart city is.
Again, it's not about technology. I think it's about its people.
It's about us.
It's about how we live together, how we make decisions, how we shape the spaces that shape us.
And going back to Dr. Martin Luther King's statement on injustice anyway is a threat to justice everywhere. And I think that when we're building smart cities, we're rising from the ground up, that they're not just being built, they're being felt.
They're born from a deep need for connection, a deep need for fairness, a deep need for future proofing in a world that feels uncertain. And it is an uncertain world today.
And it starts with many things. And devolution is one of those things, I think will be one of those things when we know what is best for Solihull as people of Solihull, when we know what's best for Birmingham in terms of the people of Birmingham, we're not passive users, but we're actually co creating the voices that we want. Our data, our voices, our struggles, our dreams all matter in this space. And a true Smart city, in my opinion, listens, it adapts, it builds the very systems that reflect the diversity of its people and the richness of its communities.
Again, whether that's clean transport, whether that's affordable housing, whether is accessible health care and tech that works when it serves us right. So how is a smart city made?
With sensors and apps? Yes, I know. More importantly, with trust and I think with collaboration, with people who care.
And I think that's where we are with what a smart city is. You've got the innovation, you've got the tech, you've got us. What more can we do? But I do think it has to be about people who care, because that works for everyone. If I said at the beginning that there was a 12 year life expectancy gap between north and South, I would expect a smart city to be able to ensure that there is equity throughout.
[00:36:48] Tamlyn Shimizu: Really important message about what a smart city is about that it's really centered around the human aspect. I want to give you one last opportunity actually to talk about the mayoral charities that you have and why they were chosen and also why people should donate to them.
[00:37:11] Shahin Ashraf: So my role charities were chosen on the basis of the work that I do, because each of those represent the heart of humanity. Marie Curie helps families navigate the largest I've seen, how families have had to navigate, saying goodbye to people who faced cancer, who faced life limiting illnesses, who faced disease.
But I've chose Marie Curie because it helps navigate those hard goodbyes, the hardest goodbye. But they do it with dignity, they do it with peace, and they do it with care. And that really touches me deeply.
Solo, which is individuals with learning disabilities, the chance to live fully and freely, with joy.
Because for me, inclusion is about a pity, it's about potential.
And that's how I see it. Solihull Mind, which is oasis, those who face mental health, often very, very silently. And this is personal to me because my father battled with mental illness and I know how isolating that can be because for me it isn't about just charity.
It's about how these people come together and how these beautiful organizations come together through community innovation. It's about support and belonging that tech probably alone can't help or provide.
And I think if we want to build a better future for Solihull, I would say donate to all of them, support all of them and walk with them on this journey. So that's why I chose those charities. And actually it won't be just those charities. It'll be depending on how much we raise, it'll be some of the smaller charities that are struggling to make ends meet. So I'll be supporting those.
[00:39:03] Tamlyn Shimizu: Very good. We'll make sure to check those out also for all of our listeners. With that, I just have to give you a big thank you for your time to come and speak to me about all of these inspiring topics, to tell the stories from your community, to tell your story as well. So thank you so much for taking this opportunity to talk to me.
[00:39:25] Shahin Ashraf: Thank you so much. Really appreciate it. Thank you for having me on.
[00:39:29] Tamlyn Shimizu: Anytime. And also thank you to all of our listeners. Of course, don't forget, you can always create a free account on BABLE-smartcities eu. You can learn about interesting projects, stories and more on there. So make sure to check it out. Thank you very much.
