CONFERENCE ON NATIONAL AFFAIRS

The YMCA Youth Conference on National Affairs was started in 1968 as a follow-up to the outstanding state Youth in Government programs conducted by the YMCA throughout the USA. Minnesota was honored to send its first delegation to the conference in 1982.

The Youth Conference on National Affairs is host to some of the brightest young minds in the nation. Nearly 500 Youth in Government Participants from about 30 participating states are selected to attend the conference where they debate issues of international and national importance. Delegates prepare proposals relating to an issue of national or international importance. The proposals are then presented, debated and scored according to national/international importance, evidence of research, feasibility, presentation, and originality. The five-day conference takes place in early July at the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly. The Blue Ridge Assembly is a YMCA conference center, founded in 1906, set against the dramatic backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the town of Black Mountain, North Carolina.

At the conclusion of the conference, the Minnesota delegation traditionally takes an exciting sight-seeing trip to various east coast cities, which have included Washington DC, New York City, Boston and Colonial Williamsburg.

The application process begins in mid-winter. Any student who has participated in either the Model Assembly or the Model United Nations is strongly encouraged to apply. Twenty-five delegates are selected by a committee comprised of several impartial individuals. Advisors play an important role in this process by encouraging Model Assembly and Model United Nations participants to apply.