Overview
Since 1949, Missouri YMCA Youth In Government (YIG) has provided students with the opportunity to develop leadership skills and experience democracy. Based on the motto “Democracy Must Be Learned By Each Generation”, YIG is a statewide educational program that involves almost 800 Missouri youth each year in various programs. These include our Model Government Program (State Convention), Civic Leadership Institute, Executive Branch Leadership Institute & YMCA Advocacy Day, College Issues Forum, and Conference on National Affairs.

The Missouri YMCA Youth In Government program is operated by the YMCA Associations in the state under the direction of the YIG Board of Advisors and Program Committee, both composed of adult volunteers and youth representatives from all parts of the state. The program is administered by the YIG State Director through the state office in Jefferson City. Membership in the YMCA, the organization that sponsors the Youth In Government program, is not required in order to participate in Youth In Government.

• Motto: Democracy must be learned by each generation.
• Vision: YIG will inspire a passion for democracy.
• Mission: YIG actively engages youth in the responsibilities of democratic leadership.
• Values: YIG believes in the YMCA core values: Caring, Honesty, Respect and Responsibility.

Purpose
The purpose of Missouri YMCA Youth In Government is to prepare students for responsible leadership in the American democratic process by providing guidance, training and experience in the theory and practice of determining public policy.

Missouri YMCA Youth In Government is designed to:

• Motivate young people into citizenship responsibilities.
• Provide opportunities for understanding state agencies and their functions.
• Expand awareness and knowledge of state problems.
• Increase the ability of young people to organize and express ideas clearly and persuasively.
• Stimulate tolerance and understanding of other points of view.
• Give young people an opportunity to express their concerns on state issues to governmental officials in a responsible and constructive way.

History
In 1949 under the leadership of Randall Foster, President of the Board of the St. Louis YMCA, Missouri became the second state in the Midwest to launch the Youth In Government program. Missouri was the twenty-first state across the United States to conduct this YMCA citizenship-training program for its youth clubs.

A statewide committee of 30 people worked a full year to get the program underway. Because of the contributions of these business leaders, educators and YMCA representatives, the first Missouri Youth In Government General Assembly met in Jefferson City on December 16 and 17, 1949. One hundred thirty-five high school youth, selected from 50 clubs and representing more than 3,000 members, participated. Since the program started, over 10,000 Missouri youth have been involved.

Thirty-three bills in that first general assembly were prepared by the Youth In Government representatives, of which seven finally passed both the House and Senate and were signed by the Youth Governor, Gerald Gorman of North Kansas City.

Founded in New York in 1936, the Youth In Government program was labeled "A Seedbed for Leadership" by The Reader's Digest. Thomas C. Desmond, a member of the New York State Senate in 1948, called it "One of the most hopeful movements toward intelligent democracy in the country." The program is currently held in YMCAs in over 40 states.