An MLA born in 1998 has told how he first became aware of the Good Friday Agreement "possibly for the wrong reasons".
Eóin Tennyson said he read the agreement after the DUP had used Stormont's petition of concern to veto a motion in favour of legalising same-sex marriage.
The Alliance MLA said the move in 2015 convinced him of the need to ensure power-sharing structures resulting from the 1998 peace deal were not "turned on their head and abused".
Read more: Stormont instability a lingering regret from Good Friday Agreement, says Bertie Ahern
Mr Tennyson, who was born shortly after the Good Friday Agreement was signed, said the historic deal achieved relative peace but "there's still so much more work to do".
The openly gay politician told Belfast Live: "I first became aware of the Good Friday Agreement in 2015, possibly for the wrong reasons.
"Because it was just after DUP had abused the petition of concern to block equal marriage in the Assembly, and that was going to deny me possibly my right to marry in the society that I grew up.
"So I took out the agreement on a read about its aspirations and some of its structures."
He said that he "became convinced" of the need to ensure mechanisms "designed to protect minority communities" such as the petition of concern could not be "turned on their head and abused".
The Upper Bann MLA added: "So in 2023, we need to ensure that the agreement is fit for purpose, that it is able to deliver on equality, diversity and inclusion, and that it is able to reflect the Northern Ireland that exists today, because we're no longer simply an orange and green society.
"We're a diverse society and our political institutions need to reflect that."
Same-sex marriage was legalised in Northern Ireland in 2020 as Westminster intervened during Stormont's three-year collapse after Sinn Féin withdrew from the Executive following the RHI controversy.
Power-sharing resumed in 2020 but has not been functioning since last year when the DUP walked out in protest against Brexit's Northern Ireland Protocol.
Mr Tennyson, a former councillor who was elected to Stormont last year, reiterated his party's calls for power-sharing structures to be reformed.
Reflecting on the Good Friday Agreement, he said: "It's hard to imagine the sheer sense of possibility and relief that my parents felt going out to vote for that agreement in the hope of a better future for me and for my generation.
"We have achieved relative peace, but I believe there's still so much more work to do. I still grew up in a divided society where my community background dictated so much about my life.
"Where I grew up, where I went to school, what street I lived on, which football teams I could support, and even what my political views should be."
He added: "The agreement opened the door to pragmatic win-win politics based not upon division but diversity.
"Twenty-five years on, we need to reflect on the structures of the agreement to ensure it's able to deliver on those aspirations.
"Aspirations of sustainable government, progress on equality and human rights, and the hard graft of reconciliation."
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