Did you know that the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly has announced plans for a Youth Assembly?
What is a Youth Assembly?
The Youth Assembly is exactly that… an Assembly for Youth – a platform designed to be used by young people to have their voices heard. The core age range of the members will be 13 to 17, but there will be an upper age limit of 21 to ensure diverse representation. The Youth Assembly will provide young people with direct access to the decision-makers at the heart of our democracy.
Just as with the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Youth Assembly will have 90 members. It will hold committee meetings to deal with specific issues, sessions will be presided over by the Speaker, and debates will most likely take place in the Assembly Chamber in Parliament Buildings.
What’s happening now?
The Youth Assembly is still at a very early stage – a lot of details still need to be ironed out, but that’s on purpose! We want young people to help shape and develop how the Youth Assembly will work, what issues it will deal with, and how.
Young people in Northern Ireland will be the driving force behind how the Youth Assembly is established and developed. The idea for a Youth Assembly here has been in development for some time. We’ve looked at other youth forums and spoken to people involved in the youth sector and voluntary and community groups about how it will work. But, in order to help shape the Youth Assembly’s work, we really need young people to get involved.
Get involved!
The first step is to get yourself on our mailing list and we’ll keep you updated on everything you need to know. Check out the web page and sign up here.
You can also follow us on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/northernirelandyouthassembly
https://twitter.com/NIYouthAssembly
https://www.instagram.com/niyouthassembly/
We’d love to hear from you!
Youth Assembly Team
