In order to foster a rewarding and challenging program, the District Conference allows students to qualify for the right to participate in the State Conference. District Conferences are one-day, qualifying, regional competitions that students and mentors look forward to as great warm-ups for the much larger State Conferences several months later.

Each year, months of hard work and countless man hours culminate with the Texas Youth and Government State Conferences.  These Conferences host select delegates from all districts in multiple program sections and invite them to showcase their political skills and learn from their peers. By coordinating the efforts of volunteers, staff, and delegates, we hope to make each year’s State Conference better than the last, fostering a unique and healthy competition for all.

Our Middle School (Junior Youth and Government) State Conference takes place the last weekend in January of each year, and our High School  State Conference takes place the first weekend in March.  Attendees can review the YG Pre-Conference Handbook here and the JYG Pre-Conference Handbook here.

The National Judicial Competition (NJC), Conference on National Affairs (CONA), and National Advocacy Days (NAD) bring together Youth and Government participants from around the country.  At NJC, Judicial participants face off in mock trial and appellate competitions.  CONA involves researching an issue of national and/or international concern, organizing the information gained into a creative proposal describing a solution to the issue, and engaging in intensive discussion and debate about proposals with understanding young people from other states.  Through NAD, Texas Youth and Government students visit Washington, D.C., and work with Y staff to advocate on behalf of the Y’s agenda: youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility.  Texas Youth and Government also connects its Youth Governor to Youth Governors across the country during the annual Youth Governors’ Conference.  For more information about these opportunities, visit our National Conferences tab.