Logan
Youth Assembly Member
I never thought one day, I would be sitting in the room where Northern Ireland’s history is made. My name is Logan; I’m 15, from Mid Ulster and I recently become a Member of the Northern Ireland Youth Assembly, and on Saturday 24th January 2026 I attended our first plenary.
We began our day in the Long Gallery, and received public speaking training from Tony McGaharan, CEO of People Playbook. This was absolutely brilliant and has helped develop skills in public speaking and confidence among our cohort. I particularly found Tony’s advice and explanation on use of pace, pauses and pitch to be especially educational. I incorporated this knowledge during my speech in the Assembly Chamber, altering my pace and making deliberate use of pauses.
I am absolutely ecstatic to get opportunities to continue to represent Northern Ireland’s young people, and to further practice and refine my public speaking skills. I would highly recommend People Playbook public speaking training to young people, as it is extremely beneficial in helping build confidence, and developing skills to speak in front of an audience. If I had to give advice regarding public speaking, it would be to make sure to look at your audience while speaking to them! While it can be daunting, having the confidence to look up and around is essential in making a positive impression.
During a delicious lunch, we also had the opportunity to get to know other Youth Assembly Members a little better and to meet with MLAs and the Speaker. Then came the time to put the morning’s learning into practice, with no better place than the stunning setting of the Assembly Chamber at Parliament Buildings.
Walking into the Assembly Chamber felt absolutely incredible. To actually be in the Assembly Chamber, a place I had heard, researched and read so much about, to take a seat on the benches, and to stand up and give a speech was a fantastic experience. My speech was on the NI economy, with a particular focus on the cost of living. I feel this is an incredibly important issue for young people to recognise and understand, and one I feel passionate about. After the speeches, we all cast our three votes for what issues we wanted to be the priorities for our term ahead. The selected committees were Health, Rights and Equality, and Education.
I hope that we, as the NI Youth Assembly Members, will be successful in giving young people a voice, helping represent their views, and that we will learn more about the systems that govern our society. I am excited to meet MLAs and work with the various Assembly Committees, and given how successful our first Plenary session was, I can’t wait to see what lies ahead over the next two years.
