Ymca Youth And Government

Begun in New York in 1936 , the Youth and Government program was the brainchild of Clement Duran , the Boy's Work Secretary of the Albany YMCA. He felt that his country was in need of better educated politicians who had real character and integrity, and he believed the way of providing such politicians was to form programs for young people that developed these character traits. His idea of model youth Legislature s continues to be the guiding idea in today's Youth and Government programs, and the motto for his program, "Democracy Must Be Learned by Each Generation", is the motto for all Youth and Government programs in the United States.

Today, over 40 states have Youth and Government programs: most of these programs consist of a model legislature composed of high school students who write legislation, and gather for a week to debate their proposed laws in their actual state capitol building. Nationwide studies show that Youth and Government alumni are not necessarily more likely to become politicians as they reach adulthood, but they are considerably more likely to become active in local political issues as concerned citizens.

Every year in July, representatives from many of the 40 State Youth in Government programs participate in the YMCA Conference on National Affairs. This conference is held in Asheville, NC at Black Mountain Conference Center. Each year during this week, participants have the opportunity to meet other delegates from different states, debate legislature of national and international relevance, and form friendships that will forever last. CONA is "run" by 6 college freshman called PO's (Presiding Officers) who oversee the Conference during the entire week, as well as the Chair of the General Assembly and Plenary Sessions. Overall, participants of this conference will usually number around 600, with nearly 100 adult volunteers. CONA is the only National YMCA youth conference.

Many states also have judicial programs, in which youth "attorneys" from across the state write briefs and participate in mock trials before taking part in a mock appeal hearing in the state capitol and state Supreme Court buildings.

California has the largest Y&G program and is the newest of the eight YMCAs in the country with statewide charters (PA, NY, OH, WV, KY, GA, VA). The remaining Y&G programs are organized by local YMCA associations on behalf the state in which they reside. The California YMCA has expanded its Youth & Government program to include around 2000 youth from over 85 different delegations. The program has grown so much as to have its own Model Court, Press, Media, Lobbyist, Page, National Issues Commission, Board of Education, and Special Investigative Panel programs. Recently, a Model United Nations has been started to serve junior high students and prepare them for Y&G.

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