[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 92 (Thursday, May 26, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S2749]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MINNESOTA YMCA YOUTH IN GOVERNMENT PROGRAM

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, today, I am proud to stand with my 
colleague, Senator Smith, to recognize an organization that has meant 
so much to the people of Minnesota.
  On June 4, 2022, the Minnesota YMCA Youth in Government Program 
celebrates its 75th anniversary. The Minnesota YMCA Youth in Government 
Program is a youth-led, nonpartisan, experiential learning program that 
develops and promotes lifelong, active, responsible citizenship in our 
youth. Annually, the program brings middle and high school students 
from across Minnesota to create a mock State government in the State 
capitol, complete with legislative branches for upper and lower 
classmen, a court, an executive branch, lobbyists, and a press corps.
  The program has been developing tomorrow's leaders since 1946 and, 
since that time, has served over 54,000 middle school and high school 
students. Today, the Minnesota YMCA Youth in Government program stands 
as one of the largest and longest running Youth in Government programs 
in the Nation.
  Through Youth in Government, students learn to write bills, debate 
issues, argue court cases, elect their own leaders, and actively 
participate in an authentic model of real-life legislative, executive, 
and judicial processes and structures. Youth in Government students 
learn about the importance of accountability, responsibility, and the 
value of getting involved in civic affairs while developing self-
confidence and learning their voices matter and need to be heard within 
the State's--and Nation's--policy and decision-making process.
  This vital program creates an environment for students to have 
meaningful and respectful conversations where students can learn from 
each other about today's issues while fully acknowledging that each 
student brings a different life experience to the table, a skill that 
they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. It is through 
this experience that Youth in Government teaches young people that they 
have an important and immediate stake in the decisions that shape the 
future of not only the State of Minnesota, but of their Nation and the 
world.
  The program motto for Minnesota Youth in Government is ``Democracy 
must be learned by each generation,'' which is more important today 
than ever.
  I ask that my colleagues join Ms. Smith and myself in honoring the 
Minnesota YMCA Youth in Government Program.

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