Isabella
Youth Assembly Member
On 29 November, I had the privilege of joining my fellow Northern Ireland Youth Assembly Members (YAMs) for our inaugural meeting as the 2025-27 cohort.
Stepping through Stormont’s imposing façade, a palpable excitement enshrouded the building. The atmosphere was tempered with the ambition, vision, and determination that has served as the driving force for us YAMs to embark on this most meaningful of journeys. It is a journey that is certain to fortify us with challenges, embolden us with opportunity, and reward us with pertinent progression for today’s youth. Behind every hospitable smile and jovial laugh shared lay the voice of youthful enterprise just waiting to find its listeners.
We, as YAMs, are a team. Together, we will strive to be the echoing chorus of the needs of Northern Ireland’s young people, composing a melody of change that will infiltrate every corner of this place we are proud to call home. A wide spectrum of issues was highlighted in our group discussion on Saturday, evidence of the unique perspective each of us will hold in our Assembly undertakings. It was through these conversations that we began to build the bonds certain to become the scaffolding around which this cohort will prosper. As one, we promised to be an Assembly that will unite, not divide.
Personally, I have many motivations for joining the Youth Assembly. Paramount amongst these is my fervent desire to advocate for allergy sufferers in Northern Ireland, a cause close to my own heart. In addition, as Ireland’s youngest published novelist, I have a deep faith in the impact of arts and literature on society, and intend to strive for this to feature in the course of this Assembly.
As our footsteps tread the hallowed corridors of Parliament Buildings, it was impossible not to sense the cloak of responsibility being draped across our shoulders. However, I am that it is a responsibility we will meet with intention. At the conclusion of the induction event, I took a moment to cast my eye across the tranquil scene that was Belfast; residing peacefully at the foot of the hill. Beyond this city lie six counties that host the eager young minds of the future. Young minds that not only yearn to influence the path ahead of them, but are the embodiment of that future in themselves. The glimmer of determination in the eyes of our youth possesses the most steadfast of power. When fanned, this determination will cast its flame across Northern Ireland. As a Youth Assembly, it will make a better home for us all.
