YMCA Youth and Government

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YMCA Youth and Government is a program run by the YMCA in the United States to educate high school students about the principles of democratic government.

Started 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. Duran felt that America was in need of better educated politicians with real character and integrity. So, he believed, that the way of providing such politicians was to form programs for young people that developed these character traits. His idea of model youth legislatures 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 and the District of Columbia have Youth and Government programs (find yours at http://www.ymcayg.org); 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 (CONA). This conference is held in Black Mountain, NC at the YMCA Blue Ridge Conference Center. Each year, participants have the opportunity to meet other delegates from different states, and create and debate legislation of national and international relevance. Additionally, those Youth Legislature delegates elected Governor from their respective states hold a Youth Governors' Summit in Washington, D.C.

Many states also have judicial programs, in which youth "attorneys" from across the state write briefs and participate in mock appeal hearing in the state capitol and state Supreme Court buildings. The cases are decided by youth judges.

Kentucky's Youth-In-Government program is the largest, with approximately 7000 participants attending annual conferences: an East and West Senior Kentucky Youth Assembly (KYA) and an East and West Senior Kentucky United Nations Assembly (KUNA) for high-schoolers; the East, West, and Central Junior KYAs and two Junior KUNAs for middle-schoolers; and several "non-debatable" conferences: Junior and Senior Leadership Training Conference (LTC) and the Junior and Senior "Go-For-It!" conference.

California 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. In states such as Connecticut, the individual YMCA programs (through which high school students participate) sponsor a "session" each year at the state capitol. It is during this event that students hold elections for party leaders, debate bills, represent the media, and actively learn about the legislative and political process.

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.