Purdue News
Purdue News
The National 4-H Congress began in Chicago in 1921.
Since its beginning, the 4-H Congress has evolved into a youth development conference, teaching leadership and community service skills to more than 1,000 young people each year.
"4-H Congress has changed from an event that simply recognizes 4-H achievements to a national event designed to give young people a higher level of knowledge about leadership and serving their community," said event coordinator Susan Stewart.
More than 1,200 youth from across the United States and its territories are expected to attend the National 4-H Congress in Atlanta in 1998. This year the National 4-H Congress will be held at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tenn. Memphis and Orlando are the only other cities to have hosted the national event.
"We anticipate growth in the numbers of 4-Hers attending the late-fall event in the next four years. We moved to Atlanta to accommodate that growth," Stewart said.
At 4-H Congress, youth learn new skills in leadership as well as gain exposure to multi-cultural events and ideas. They will participate in a nationally televised town hall meeting that explores current issues young people feel are important to them.
At last year's National 4-H Congress town hall meeting, 4-Hers discussed ways to solve issues facing today's youth. Before they attended the congress, the youth surveyed more than 2,000 people from their home towns. They identified top issues, such as drug and alcohol abuse, teenage sex and violence, and how youth programs can help find solutions to those problems.
Also, 4-Her's attending the conference perform a day of community service. For example, they have helped plant trees in city parks and have made coats for the homeless. In the past, the participants have rated this as a positive experience, because they learned how to work with others to help individuals and organizations in a community improve themselves.
The selection process for 4-H Congress is set up by state 4-H offices. Youth who attend range from age 14 to 19. For more information on attending 4-H Congress, contact a local 4-H club or state 4-H office.
CONTACT: Susan Stewart, 4-H Congress, (770) 925-7507; e-mail, sstewart@uga.cc.uga.edu
Compiled by: Chris Sigurdson, (765) 494-8415;e-mail, sig@ecn.purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
