On February 15 – 18, the YMCA hosted the 32nd Annual North Carolina YMCA Youth & Government Conference. With the support of an amazing team of staff members as well as volunteers, students from across the state gathered to debate bills, take part in mock trials, create content and news updates and elect next year’s Youth & Government Officials. Here’s a look at this year’s conference, by the numbers:
- 786: Student delegates, advisors and staff who took part in this year’s conference
- 51%: Year-over-year increase in the number of student delegates from the 2023 conference
- 33: Delegations from across the state; These delegations from high schools and YMCAs around North Carolina spend the year developing their bills and learning about the democratic process before attending conference
- 78: Volunteers and visitors who supported the conference and visited the event downtown during the weekend
- 104: Participants and volunteers at Middle School Civics Day. For the first time this year, we invited middle schoolers from around the state to experience the conference, with an eye on developing future participants and leaders.
- 12: Mock trial cases heard throughout the weekend. Forty-eight delegates took part in these trials as prosecutors, defense attorneys, plaintiffs, defendants, witnesses and other roles.
- 94: Court of Appeals cases heard throughout the weekend by nearly 50 student delegates
- 171: Bills written, submitted and debated by student delegates in the House and Senate throughout the weekend
- 63: Bills passed by both chambers and submitted to the student governor for consideration
- 35: Bills signed into law by the student governor and his cabinet
- 4: Promotional and recap videos shot, edited and shown by the student media team over the weekend. WATCH NOW
- 1,000: Photos taken by student photographers on the media team to highlight the event
- 40: Delegates who ran for 2025 elected office
- 300: Pizzas ordered and consumed by student delegates, advisors and staff
Thanks to everyone who supported the program, visited and made this great weekend possible!
