YOUTH IN GOVERNANCE
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Welcome to Youth In Governance 2021!
Alaska 4-H Youth in Governance (aka "YIG" ) offers 4-H teens the opportunity to gain a better understanding of how government works while having a fun time with other Youth from around the state. The focus is on Alaska's state government primarily, with the opportunity to extend activities to include local governments and tribal governments. As part of Alaskan YIG, participants will also learn about opportunities to head out of the state to our other parts of our nation to learn more about how our government works.
YIG usually includes an annual trip to Juneau to interact with legislators to "Learn by Doing" with first hand, on the ground, experiences at our Capital.
But... Covid happened, things are a bit different this year (did you notice?!) and the good thing is that it's different in a lot of exciting ways PLUS we will be back to Juneau in 2022!
We will be doing things like: interacting with our Representatives, talking with active legislators and staff, finding and tracking Bills, preparing our own Bills and MORE, all while meeting other interesting youth from other parts of Alaska!
What you should know:
Who: YIG 2021 is open to all Alaskan youth ages 13-18 (grades 8-12) during this school year. Youth do not have to be currently 4-H members, but will need to sign up to join the fun :)
How: YIG 2021 is planned to be a highly interactive virtual (not in-person) experience (on...Zoom - surprise!) with teens from around the State interacting with each other and Alaska's legislative staff members and representatives. Our YIG Manual will provide information and guidance as we navigate opportunities to do activities to help learn about governance.
When: Our first meeting will be from 7-8pm, Monday, March 29th and continue for a total of 6 sessions. There will be some activities to be done outside of the meeting times in order to make the most out of YIG, such as learning who your local representatives are as well as what local and statewide issues are being worked on (or issues you think need to be worked on).
What: YIG is organized by "Years" which generally work as "YIG 1 (year 1 and 2)" during which Youth will learn how governance in Alaska works and do activities to support that learning. After completing 2 years of YIG 1, youth have learned a lot about how state government works and are encouraged to intern in a legislator or senator’s office (this is "YIG 2").
This is an invaluable experience and has even led to 4-H YIG participants to get jobs and even budding careers in the Legislature.
What Else?
Without a crystal ball, we can't be exactly what YIG will look like next year, but we really expect to have a group of 4-H YIG youth headed to Juneau in 2022!
Participants who successfully complete the 2021 YIG program will have a priority when determining who will be able to join for the YIG Juneau trip in 2022. That's what we call an "incentive" (at least we hope it is!)
So, if you are ready for a great time learning about Alaskan governance, go ahead and sign up for the YIG "Event" in our AK 4-H enrollment program "ZSuite" at https://4h.zsuite.org/
For more information or if you have any questions, please contact Darren Snyder at darren.snyder@alaska.edu or Sharon Chukuchin at schakuch@alaska.edu
Previous Years At Youth In Governance
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